Myanmar hotels play catch up

Twenty hotels have been granted investment licences in April alone, bringing the number of registered hotels, completed or in the development pipeline, to over 1,000.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism estimated there were 960 hotels in the country as of March, but that is increasing rapidly and estimates claim the inventory will exceed 1,000 mark later this year.
Despite an increase of rooms to 37,482 following the addition of 21 new hotels over the last 12 months, there sill remains an acute room shortage to accommodate the growth in both leisure and business related visits.
More hotels are required in the commercial capital of Yangon, where rates have jumped from US$30 four years ago to around US$200, this year.
The main shortage is in the three and four-star categories.
Most of the new builds are up-country in the Mandalay region financed locally by people who made their fortunes in other industries.
Mandalay Region leads with over 300 hotels and the construction of hotels is also soaring in Yangon and Shan State, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
For local investors, hotels are seen as an attractive way to use wealth to reflect their social status.
But some local investors are negotiating with foreign investors to ensure the projects gain marketing support once they are opened.
Accor, Best Western, Hilton and Mandarin Peninsula are all working on projects in the country.
Most of the foreign hotel investment is coming from Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Foreign investors have spent US$1.7 billion in 40 hotel projects and local investors have spent up to US$2 billion, according to ministry data.

Sourced: ttrweekly