Myanmar tourism maintains pace

YANGON Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism says tourist arrivals to the country are on the pace to reach a target of 4.5 million visitors this year.
The government’s official media outlet, Gobal New Light of Myanmar, quoted Hotels and Tourism Minister U Htay Aung saying foreign tourist arrivals, as of September, surpassed the figure of 3.08 million achieved in 2014.
However, he did not elaborate on the the specific number of visitors that Myanmar has received to date this year. According to a ministry report, released earlier, the country attracted 2.5 million visits by mid-August.

The minister noted: “If Myanmar continues to maintain this growth, the arrivals will reach 4.5 million by the end of this year.
inside no 1“Tourist arrivals to the country by plane, or through border crossings, will continue to rise as the peak tourist season has now set in,” he added.
Last year, the country attracted 3.08 million international tourist arrivals, an increase of 50.73% from 2.04 million visits in 2013.
However, industry comments that the ministry is counting day visitors would cast doubt on the accuracy of the figures supplied on so-called genuine tourists.
Technically, the ministry recognises the UNWTO definition that identifies a tourist as a person who visits a country for at least 24-hours.
Myanmar Tourism Marketing Committee earlier urged the government to introduce a data collection system to ensure that data is accurate and can be used to assist the industry to focus its marketing efforts.
At the time, it was stated the Ministry was counting day trips.

sourced:ttrweekly.com