25 January 2024
U Hla Myint, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said that the number of domestic and foreign tourists has increased again in 2023 and is expected to rise again.
As of November 2023, domestic tourism reached 8.85 million, and foreign tourist arrivals have returned to more than one million, he said.
“The arrival of foreign tourists was nine hundred thousand in 2020, over one hundred thousand in 2021, two hundred thousand in 2022, and over one million in 2023. Most of them come from China and Thailand. From Thailand, they are pilgrims. Domestic tourists also reached 8.85 million in November 2023. There are more domestic tourists now. It is predicted that they will go in 2024,” he said.
U Hla Myint said that for the development of tourism, the Union level officials also visit the destination areas and meet with the local governments .
“The development of tourism cannot be done by the government ministry alone. All departments must cooperate. The Myanmar Tourism Association, including the Myanmar Tourism Federation, must cooperate. The main private sector should give priority and add more effort. The government is doing the necessary coordination and relaxation to get visas easily,” he said.
