Myanmar cuts arrival target

Visitors also appear cautious as countries, including the United States, are warning travellers that Myanmar might experience instability during the forthcoming election. 

Director Myo Win Nyunt from the ministry said: “The numbers increased compared to last year but most of them are coming through the borders, not the airport.”

Heavy rains and floods that devastated Myanmar from June have made the entry more difficult for the visitors. According to the ministry, one million tourists arrived by air and over two million came from border gates.

Compared to 3 million in 2014, the visitors arrivals in the first nine months of this year showed an increase. But the original target was 5 million.

Nevertheless, the authorities plan to draw a human resource development master plan for the tourism sector. 

According to the Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF), the master plan is to increase the number of skilled workforce for the industry, which should require 2 million in total by 2020.

The plan aims to avoid the scarcity of skilled staff as the country receives an increasing number of tourist arrivals.

Naung Naung Han, general secretary from MTF, said: “The tourism sector calls for many skilled workers due to the massive influx of tourists. Thailand has experienced the problem due to the fast development. We will adopt this plan to avoid that. Currently, we have about 1 million skilled workforce but the demand is still high. The Hotel and Tourism Department has been opening training courses to fulfill demand.”

The MTF will create training courses in cooperation with hotels, tourism companies and restaurants.