Flooding not putting a dent in tourist agendas Skip to main content

Flooding not putting a dent in tourist agendas

By Ei Ei Thu   |   Wednesday, 05 August 2015
Despite flooding occurring in 11 of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions, tourism to the country has not been affected and travellers are still visiting the most popular destinations, tour operators say.
U Myat Thu, operations manager for Columbus Travel and Tours, told The Myanmar Times that flooding has not impacted major tourist destinations.
“Everything is operating as normal,” he said.
Tourists usually visit Bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay during low season, none of which have been affected by flooding. “If we have clients whose plans include visiting flooded areas, we simply send them to alternate destinations. But so far we have not had any cancellations,” he said.
He added that typically there are not many package tours in low season, but this year there are fewer than normal.
“I think it has more to do with exchange rates with the euro and the dollar. We hope to see many more package tours in the coming high season,” he said.
A spokesperson from Interconnection Travel and Tours said flood-affected areas like Sittwe, Mrauk Oo and Monywa are rarely on tourist itineraries during low season.
“I don’t think people are avoiding bookings because of the flooding. They might choose other ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos instead, but that’s because they are less expensive to visit than Myanmar,” the spokesperson said.
But U Sai from Tango Travel and Tours said his company has cut back on business operations to focus on helping people in flood-affected regions.
“We have stopped nearly all of our travel itineraries because we want to contribute to relief efforts. Tourism is slow now anyway, and it will pick up again in the high season,” he said.
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/15836-flooding-not-putting-a-dent-in-tourist-agendas.html
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more

Ancient Rakhine City of Mrauk-U Proposed for UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Irrawaddy YANGON—Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture submitted the final draft of its nomination for Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site to UNESCO on Monday, four months after the ministry submitted the first draft of its nomination in September 2019. If the application succeeds, Mrauk-U will be the third place in Myanmar to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after the ancient cities of Bagan and Pyu. Mrauk-U is located in northern Rakhine State, around 60 km from the state capital of Sittwe. The ancient city was the seat of Arakanese kings from the 1400s until the late 1700s. At the height of their power, they controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of central Myanmar. Much of the city’s remains are well-preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine. Mrauk-U Heritage Trust chairwoman Daw Khin Than told The Irrawaddy on Tue...
1 comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more