Burma’s Re-opening to the World: An Examination of Sustainable Tourism Development in the 21st Century

Editor's Notes

• #4: Introduction – Myanmar Location, population, economic
• #6: Past obstacle for tourism developing in Burma Tourism came to Myanmar during the time of ‘high colonialism’ and saw its peak in the 1920s when the famous Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) was carrying up to nine million passengers a year. Since independence in 1948, the country’s tourism sector has never been developed due to civil war during the parliamentary era (1948-62) and closed-door policy by the socialist regime (1962-88). In the 1990s, the junta that succeeded the quasi-socialist regime set tourism high on their development agenda, however this agenda was shunned by the international community due to evidence of human rights violations involved in tourism infrastructure projects until 2011. Mass tourism development in Myanmar is therefore in its infancy, facing an array of challenges, particularly in light of responsible tourism commitments. Tourism in Burma (Myanmar) is a slowly developing sector. Given Myanmar’s structural corruption, crony capitalism, widespread poverty, ongoing human rights issues, communal violence and civil war in the past several decades, it is doubtful that Will Myanmar be able to develop their tourism sector in a sustainable manner that will positively benefit the economy, the citizens who are directly affected, their cultural and religious assets, as well as the country as a whole? The immense need to develop infrastructure in the country, because there are insufficient capacities for all the tourists wanting to visit Burma. Also, it’s facing challenges from its neighbours – for example, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand – these famous tourists destinations.
• #7: Understand the why Myanmar can gain reopen in Tourism industry? Because of the 1. Change of world tourism situation 2. Leadership of Tourism: global – local level
• #8: Search CLMV.
• #10: Responsible tourism policy – 9 aims + 58 action points
• #12: According to a recent article entitled Ecotravel, approximately 700 million people spend a total of $2-3 trillion on their trips, annually. At present, ecotourism represents about 2 percent of that total. But what, exactly, is ecotourism?
• #13: Here’re some wildlife national parks and sacturaries in Myanmar. Myanmar has extremely high biodiversity and a wealth of natural resources. Its diverse forests and green landscapes which host a large variety of wildlife species, 7000 plants, 300 mammals, 360 reptiles and 1000 bird species, provide an ideal setting for nature-oriented and eco-tourism. It is home to 233 globally threatened species, such as white-browed nuthatch, Myanmar snub-nosed monkey or Burmese star tortoise.
• #14: National botanic gardens
• #17: (Conservation challenges and problems in Myanmar) http://news.mongabay.com/2013/1004-salisbury-myanmar-new-conservation-challenges.html Profit motives, poverty, and the population’s insufficient awareness continue to destroy the environment in Burma. This occurs through logging, the utilization of cultivable land for unusual crops like Jatropha, the establishment of facilities like golf courses, production of waste or indirectly through the wasting of energy in traffic and air conditioning as well as “including slash and burn farming, hunting of protected wildlife, illegal logging, little funding for conservation efforts, under resourced staff, as well as weaknesses in the constitution that allow for environmental exploitation.”
• #18: https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/nbsap/nbsapcbw-seasi-01/other/nbsapcbw-seasi-01-mm-en.pdf Protected Area System - Thus far, 23 sanctuaries and five parks, constituting about 2.26% (15,270 sq. km) of the total land area of the country have been established under the existing PAS. Proposals for forming new protected areas have been made and these numbers are likely to increase in the near futures.
• #19: http://www.ecoburma.com/2013/03/weekly-ecoburma-roundup-32/
• #20: http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/ecolodge4.htm What is Ecolodge? - An industry label used to identify a nature-dependent tourist lodge that meets the philosophy and principles of ecotourism. Ecolodges offer accommodations from deluxe rooms to outdoor tents. Many provide excellent opportunities for relaxation, experiencing nature and cultural activities. Remember that instead of a typical vacation, an ecolodge can offer you the opportunity to be a responsible traveler. There are also lodges that specialize in nature- or education-based travel with activities that include learning about surrounding wildlife or regional history from a local guide. 
• #21: Local-owned? Benefit local community? Built by sustainable materials?
• #22: http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganhartley/2013/04/03/burmas-reforms-arent-trickling-down-to-small-businesses/
• #23: Semi-free economic market; tax benefits; small businesses
• #24: http://www.ecoburma.com/choices/ Crony involvement: (1)As cronies develop more hotel zones, land conflicts are likely to become a major issue. Even the Ministries do not agree over the ownership of land in Myanmar. The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism had been negotiating with the Ministry of Culture over the building of hotels on a cultural heritage site in Bagan. Locals in Bagan, however, dissent hotel projects in the 42 square kilometres Bagan cultural heritage site. On 22 October 2012, the first ever local protest against tourism infrastructure projects in Myanmar was staged in Bagan-Nyaung Oo Township. The locals’ demand that Bagan cultural heritage site be respected and the expansion of new hotel and restaurant projects on the site be stopped has not been heeded by the authorities. (2) The destination level cronies are now also into hotel and tourism.  Local community empowerment Area protection: Profit motives, poverty, and the population’s insufficient awareness continue to destroy the environment in Burma. This occurs through logging, the utilization of cultivable land for unusual crops like Jatropha, the establishment of facilities like golf courses, production of waste or indirectly through the wasting of energy in traffic and air conditioning. Poor chances for small enterprises Since 2011, package tour sales have dropped despite the dramatic rise in the number of arrivals in Myanmar, indicating that the country is set to become a top destination for Foreign Independent Travellers (FITs). However the existing number of small-scale hotels cannot keep up with the influx of FITs. There is a myriad of smaller enterprises and guesthouses in Myanmar but most of them are not certified to lodge foreign tourists. Smaller enterprises lack the knack and the means to meet the health and safety standards required. The system continues to give an upper hand to larger hotels. On the long run, smaller establishments, if they fail to keep up with the standards for foreign guests set by the authorities will perish or be taken over by foreign or crony-owned businesses. In the near future, if tourists want to avoid putting their money into crony pockets, their choices will be increasingly limited. Lack of training Local sourcing Human right issues Weakness awareness