Tourist police deployed next month
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An independent tourist police force has been formed and its officers will begin patrolling tourist areas next month, according to the Myanmar Tourist Guide Association.
“Training courses on protecting and supporting the tourist industry began two months ago for this [tourist police] force,” said association spokesperson Tun Myat. He said police officers with bachelors degrees had been selected for the force.
The 140 officers will be assigned to tourist sites in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Shan State and the administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw, he said.
Tun Myint Oo, a deputy director from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said he had not been briefed on the force but officials from his ministry had participated in the training courses.
Myanmar launched a tourist police force in 1996, but it was not independent from other police forces. The new one includes officers from the first force, Tun Myat said.
He said that the rapid growth of the tourist industry had led to a shortage of hotel rooms and guides and a rise in illegal businesses. Unprofessional guides had entered the business and tourist police were necessary to control them, Tun Myat said.
“Our association welcomes the tourist police force,” he said.
