Tourist behaving badly in Myanmar

YANGON Travel professionals in Myanmar have been warned to keep their tour guests in check to ensure they do not behave badly during their visit to the country.

No particular nationalities were singled out, but there have been recent news reports of European tourists disrespecting local culture or not dressing appropriately when visiting Buddhist temples.

A tourist was recently deported for displaying a tattoo of a Buddha-like image that caught the attention of immigration officials at Yangon airport.

Credit Myanmar Times

The warning comes from Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and targets both visitors and travel professionals who handle group tours.

Signboards will be erected at popular tourist destinations, across the country, urging visitors to respect local culture and behave in an appropriate manner especially when visiting religious sites.

Myanmar Times reported Monday that the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA) would distribute plastic cards listing the do’s and don’ts that foreign visitors should understand and adopt during their stay.

One surprising don’t, at least for foreign visitors, is the instruction to visitors that they should not chew betel.

But the “no smoking” ban in restaurants, hotels and other public places such as shopping malls and government offices concerns everyone including the locals who love their tobacco fix.

The instructions warn visitors not to wear clothes that are inappropriate when visiting public places and religious or cultural attractions.

Commenting on the campaign to the Myanmar Times, UMTA general secretary, Daw Thatoe Thuzar Aung, said that in the past posters were distributed in Yangon, Mandalay and other big cities.

“We distributed posters at all major travel destinations such as Yangon, Mandalay, Inle Lake and Kalaw as a public awareness programme. Now we plan to distribute vinyl posters, starting next month after the rainy season. We’re working with tourist guides and bus drivers who deal with tourists, and we will distribute them throughout Myanmar,” she said.