Burma's tourist numbers are expected to total over one million by year's end. Photo: AFP/amybbb/shutterstock.com
According to Htay Aung, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, over one million tourists will arrive in the country by the end of December, with 400,000 entering the
country from border gateways.
Most of the country's international visitors come on business trips to the country's commercial capital Yangon. According to the minister "Yangon International Airport has been receiving an average of 2,300 visitors daily."
Home to more than 2,000 Buddhist temples and stunning landscapes, Burma's tourism sector has benefited from recent political reforms and especially the by-elections held this year. In comparison, there were over 800,000 arrivals in 2011, up 1.27 percent from over 790,000 in 2010. Visits to Burma jumped by 37.5 percent during the first seven months of 2012 compared to the same period last year.
However as the country welcomes an increasing number of tourists after years of oppressive military rule, the industry experts have expressed concern on the hotel room shortage and the lack of transport infrastructure.
Recent data shows that there are around 448 hotels offering a total of 19,014 rooms in the major tourist destinations such as Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Taunggyi and Inle Lake.
"We need to upgrade service standards, transportation and also upgrade existing hotels and tourist sites including opening new tourist sites," the ministry said.
As part of the plans, the country is planning a new international airport near Yangon and Yangon is allowing investors to convert apartment to hotels, adding over 500 rooms this year.