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In a place like Myanmar, where history doesn’t really help, optimism is an essential ingredient if a positive future is to be carved out of a cynical past. This history is full of illusory kingdoms and colonial schemes that, for all their grandeur, turned one of Asia’s most resource-rich countries into one of the continent’s poorest today.
Burma’s post-war history was even less kind, as its subsequent liberation from Britain and Japan left behind a military bloc. A harshly suppressed rebellion by Buddhist monks in 2007 and the ongoing struggle of national hero and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi have kept the tyranny on the front pages of newspapers around the world and justified harsh U.S. sanctions .
Things improved markedly in 2011, when former secretary of state Hillary Clinton struck a deal with the country’s ruling military junta to lift sanctions if the country was on the path to political liberalization and free elections. The generals agreed to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and allow free elections next November. The fate of Myanmar’s people, institutions, natural endowments and tourism hangs in the balance. Elections will determine who guides the future of tourism: professionals or cronies.
Tourism has been an important catalyst for a series of progress in Myanmar so far. In 2013, Myanmar attracted about 2 million tourists. The country expects to reach 3 million this year and 7.5 million by 2020. “Demand is growing so fast, it’s driving prices up,” said U Naung Naung Han, secretary-general of the Union of Myanmar Tourism Associations. “Germany, France and Spain have been stable for a few years. The new growth is actually coming from the US and the UK, which started with the lifting of sanctions three years ago. Before that, we had less than 10,000 US tourists. This year we expect There are over 60,000 people.”
The bang of progress can be heard almost everywhere. China is planning a railway line linking Kunming and Yangon. New hotels are announced almost every week. Credit cards can now be used. You can obtain an e-Visa online.
While internet connections are spotty at best, telecommunications have greatly improved. Eun Young Lee, Sales Director of Sule Shangri-La, has been working in Myanmar for 17 years. Two years ago, a phone SIM card cost about $2,000, she said. Two months ago it was around $200, today they are around $3.
“The ability to use a phone and connect with people at home and abroad is an immeasurable transformative force,” she said. “Who knows what that means in itself.”
Severine Fallet, Abercrombie & Kent’s country manager for Myanmar, arrived in Myanmar from France in 2007 on the eve of the saffron revolution, and in just seven years she has seen dramatic improvements in freedom of expression.
“People are speaking publicly now,” she said. “They can criticize the government at will. When Hillary Clinton came here, the big changes started. I believe five years from now, the infrastructure that we don’t have today will revitalize it, such as promoting business, Road network for wealth and travel. The Ayeyarwady River has grown by leaps and bounds with new ships like Temple Ananda and Pando’s new ships.
The surge in investment points to optimism for international tourism. Just last week, Hilton Worldwide opened the Hilton Nay Pyi Taw in the country’s new capital, announcing it was only the first of six hotels planned in Myanmar. Kempinski will open its first hotel in Myanmar, Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw on November 1st. The hotel will be the venue for Myanmar’s first ASEAN summit at the Myanmar International Convention Center (MICC).
Several figures from military rule have surrendered their uniforms and adopted the suit and tie of civilian political life. When you travel in Myanmar, you can see pictures of their generosity in donations to Buddhist temples, which is the Myanmar equivalent of kissing a baby. The election would essentially pit Aung San Suu Kyi’s allies against the military leader. Aung San Suu Kyi was not allowed to run because her late husband was British. That’s why. Do not make jokes.
Several Banshee questions will haunt the booth on Election Day. Will it be a righteous election? If the opposition wins, will the generals retire gracefully from power? These simple questions are given complex consequences. When the military first came to power, they almost immediately destroyed one of Myanmar’s greatest resources, teak forests. Basically, they cut them down without any plans for replanting.
Forests that have been patiently cultivated can recover within four to five years. It too could go the way of teak if the tourism industry is treated similarly, following the mass-market approach of fast-cutting prices. Overbuilding, lack of environmental oversight and cronyism could nip Myanmar’s nascent tourism industry in the bud and reduce it to just another fantasy kingdom that rapaciously plunders resources without leaving a legacy.
Although the direction of Myanmar is currently uncertain, there is no uncertainty about the destination. It’s a multifaceted travel experience, a place of breathtaking natural beauty, complex history and culture, and hospitable inhabitants. It is a most exciting prospect that Myanmar can go head-to-head with Asia’s top attractions in its own right, creating tourism flows that can seamlessly connect emerging destinations in East India to Southeast Asia.
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