Yangon airport receives 2000 tourists everyday

Yangon International Airport receives a daily average of nearly 2,000 foreign tourists, according to Htay Aung, the minister of hotels and tourism.

At a meeting with entrepreneurs from the tourism industry on November 4, Htay Aung said tourism growth is getting better.

Foreign tourists enter the country through four airports – Yangon, Mandalay, Nyaung U, and Nay Pyi Taw – in addition to many border checkpoints.

“Tourist arrivals to Yangon have increased from 2010 to 2012. The number of tourist arrivals in October is 20,000, more than in September,” said an official from the Yangon International Airport.

Last year, Yangon International Airport received more than 360,000 foreign tourists while more than 26,000 tourists entered through Mandalay, Bagan, and Nay Pyi Taw gateways.

After suffering three consecutive years of decline, Myanmar’s tourism industry started to recover in 2010 due to political changes in the country. It became the centre of attention after the by-election in last April.

An increasing number of foreign companies have been making study trips to Myanmar this year to make investments, especially in the hotel and tourism sector. Most investors have been waiting for the publication of the long-awaited foreign investment law, which was approved on November 2.

New airlines have also launched routes to Myanmar in time for the peak tourist season and the number of business tourists and international tourists arriving in Myanmar has been equally increasing, according to sources from the tourism industry.

A total of 420,000 tourists arrived in Myanmar from January to early November this year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

Last year, the number of tourist arrivals exceeded 800,000, up more than 24,000 or 3 per cent from the same period in 2010, according to the statistics.

The statistics also show that there were 1091 hotels and guesthouses offering 44,294 rooms up to September 2012.

Source: Eleven Media Group