Myanmar tie-up aims to boost Thai tourism

A FIRST-TIME agreement on tourism between Thailand and Myanmar is expected to result in Thailand increasing its standing as the main gateway into the newly opened market and grab more cross-border tourists.
Ittirit Kinglake, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), believed that a memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries would expose more tourists to Myanmar’s many attractions and its culture via Thailand.
“Myanmar is undergoing for a big change. More foreign airlines are operating into the main airports in Yangon and Nay Pyi Daw. With Myanmar growing, we should not let them grow alone but join them with their growth,” he said.
Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports met last week with Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and Ministry of Sport. 
Ministers from both countries agreed to work together on tourism marketing development, promoting cross-border activities, training labour, building more connectivity with countries sharing their borders, increasing sport cooperation, and developing more high-end tourism segments such as cruises. Myanmar needs Thailand to help boost its tourism training and marketing alongside improving its human resources and tourism service standards.
Last year, Thailand welcome more than 32 million international visitors and many of them travelled further to neighbouring countries including Myanmar, which aims to attract 7.5 million foreign tourists in 2020. 
For cross-border travel, around 6,000 Myanmar citizens a month visited Mae Sot in Thailand via Myawady Township last year, generating tax receipts of Ks700 million (Bt5.5 billion) for the Myanmar government.
Most Myanmar citizens who visit Mae Sot via Myawady Township require a temporary border pass. Thai people visiting Myanmar can use a border passport or a temporary border passport.
Foreigners entering Myanmar with an employment passport must pay US$10 (Bt354), and last year 1,383 foreigners visited Myanmar through this channel. 
According to Ittirit, public and private operators in Myanmar are interested in joining this year’s Thailand Travel Mart Plus Amazing Gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion (TTM+) 2017, which is scheduled to take place in the |northern capital of Chiang Mai in June. 
After 15 years of being Thailand’s largest B2B tourism trade event, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is continuing to host the event and expects it to lure more than 350 buyers from over 60 countries across the globe including Myanmar.
This is in line with the Kingdom’s strategy to penetrate emerging source markets such as eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, South America and South Africa. 
Amongst exhibitors, TAT is expecting some 400 sellers from |all regions of Thailand and the Greater Mekong Subregion countries. The rest of the exhibitors will include the normal range of hotels and resorts, tour operators and travel agents, entertainment facilities, transportation companies, tourism attractions, travel associations, national tourism organisations and other travel services.