Tourism investment up despite drop in visitors
The number of foreign travelers visiting in Myanmar is down on 2015, but foreign investment in the tourist sector shows a 15 percent increase, according to data from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Although officials caution that investment decisions should be based on the right data. Ministry data shows that as of the end of September this year 3.1 million tourists had visited the country, compared with 3.3 million over the same period in 2015. But that has not stopped the potential for Myanmar tourism attracting US$3 billion in foreign investment across 56 projects as of the end of November, according to U Myint Htwe, director of the tourism ministry. “That’s up from $2.6 billion across 48 projects in 2015, which [in dollar value] is an increase of over 15pc,” he told The Myanmar Times. By country of origin, Thailand is the “biggest investor in tourism this year, while United Arab Emirates was the smallest investors”, he added.
