A Look into Myanmar's Services Sector: Hotels & Tourism

As Myanmar’s economy continues to grow, foreign investors will always have ample opportunity to establish their business presence. In the next few months, follow us as we look into Myanmar’s individual services sector, highlighting their specific challenges, opportunities and its general outlook in the long term.

Sectors we have covered:
Hotels and Tourism Part II – Opportunities, Government Support & Outlook
Banking and Finance – The Economic Driver, Challenges, Opportunities and Forecast
​Telecommunications – More than Just Talk-time, Challenges, Opportunities & Outlook
Transportation – Better Transport to Boost Economic Growth, Challenges, Opportunities and Outlook
Retail – Myanmar's Economy Fueling the Retail Boom, Challenges, Opportunities and Outlook

A Look into Myanmar's Services Sector: Hotels & Tourism
In recent years, the hotels and tourism sector has played a key role in Myanmar's economic development. The growing number of tourists and expats reflect the booming sector and the government has indeed taken steps to further develop it. In this first of a 2-part series looking at the Hotels and Tourism sector, we will address the current situation and its challenges. Subsequently we will look into its opportunities and the sectoral outlook in the second part.

​Myanmar, a country rich with culture and heritage, attracts a great number of international tourists to the country. With the recent announcement to ease visa requirements on selected countries, it is hope that this will boost tourist arrivals to this land of a thousand pagodas. According to statistical data from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, around 4.68 million international tourists visited Myanmar in 2015 and the Ministry expects tourist arrivals to reach 6 million in 2016. 

​Tourism: an Economic Generator
The following chart below indicates the percentage of tourism earnings per yearly GDP.

Source: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Union of Myanmar

As seen from the chart above, tourism earnings has doubled eversince visa requirements have relaxed from 2013. Even after 2013, tourism earnings per yearly GDP have continued to increase year on year.

The government is determined to focus on the overall tourism industry to boost its sectoral contribution to the country's GDP. It recognizes that the industry is an essential component for growth and economic development. Apart from other services sector, the hotels and tourism sector is crucial for foreign investors because it is seen as a major contributor to the economy now and in the future.

The approved amount of foreign direct investments as of July 2016 puts the Hotels and Tourism sector in 7th place of total approved amount. The amount is projected to increase over time and this is synonymous with the national economic policy focusing on foreign direct investments which was revealed in July 2016. 

​The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism have drawn up the Myanmar Tourism Master Plan (2013-2020). Part of this plan included initiating tourism cooperations with neighboring countries to encourage more foreign investments in the sector. The plan also focuses on meeting future challenges and riding on trends. Ideally the plan will reap both economic and social benefits, at the domestic and international level.

The plan if executed well will significantly contribute to the tourism development of Myanmar. Tourism infrastructure such as roads, civil aviation, railways and cruise port of facilities will be further developed to enhance connectivity in accordance with the master plan. In addition to improved connectivity for tourist into the country, the plans also highlighted the improvements to accommodation facilities, training of front-line service staff and enhancing the policy and regulatory environment.

With the aim of massive growth in tourism, Myanmar participated in the CLMV Tourism Joint Cooperation Plan (Cambodia Laos Myanmar Vietnam) which it had signed in 2010. The four countries work together to attract high number of visitors whilst attaining mutual benefits. In this regard, the Tourism Ministerial Conference is annually. The aim of this conference is to connect individual tourism industries and expand cooperation in specific areas of interest.

Furthermore, tourism sector is emphasized as a single destination under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation of CLMV plus China and Thailand. As a GMS member country, Myanmar coordinates tourism development projects in the region and collaborates with the private sector to strengthen the socio-economic development. 

Infrastructure Constraints
To achieve the desired sustainable development goals, both hard and soft infrastructures are essential. However, physical infrastructure to support the surge in tourism numbers need to be developed further and faster. Currently the rapid growth in tourist numbers outpaced the development of supplementary infrastructure.

For example, the country's three international airports in Naypyidaw, Yangon and Mandalay may not be able to handle the spike in tourist numbers as more airlines launch service routes to Myanmar. As such, a fourth international airport - Hanthawaddy International Airport, is being constructed. Once operational, the airport will be able to handle a capacity of 12 million passengers annually, making it one of the largest airport in Myanmar. The airport is slated for completion by 2022.

In 2013, many new hotels opened and hotel occupancy rates have substantially increased. But in its seasonal peak, accommodation shortages still persists. In response to this issue, the government has approved many private businesses interested in hotel operations who also possess their own plat of land due to constraints at the ministry to lease out land for new.

Currently, the total of hotels operating all over the country is about 340 hotels and over 600 motels and inns. Despite the numbers being relatively small, it is projected to be on track to meet the growing demand.

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Editor’s Note: This post is part one in a 2-part series. Click here to read Part II or the other services sectors below:
Banking and Finance – The Economic Driver, Challenges, Opportunities and Forecast
Telecommunications – More than Just Talk-time, Challenges, Opportunities and Outlook
Transportation – Better Transport to Boost Economic Growth, Challenges, Opportunities and Outlook
Retail – Myanmar's Economy Fueling the Retail Boom, Challenges, Opportunities & Outlook