The far southern region of Myanmar sits close to the border with Thailand. Washed by the Andaman Sea in the West, it is home to numerous islands of Mergui Archipelago as well as groups of smaller Moscos islands, all almost totally devoid of tourism infrastructure except for a handful of hotels and guesthouses. Tourists seen by the shores of the Mergui Archipelago normally arrive by boat tours from Thailand.
The the Myanmar Investment Commission believes that Tanintharyi Region has great potential to grow into an important tourism region and targets to attract more sustainable and quality investment to the region for boosting tourism development. Both government and private sectors are encouraged to participate in the project.
Last year, the Investment Committee approved five enterprises in Tanintharyi Region out of which four were tourism-related. Currently, there are 30 hotels, 10 guesthouses and over 90 travel companies in the area. Besides, the regional government encourages community-based tourism schemes in Dawei, Myeik and Kawthaung in order to help local economies. It is expected that the new status of a UNESCO heritage site granted to Myanmar's prime tourist destination, Bagan, will attract more travellers to the country and will result in opening of new destinations and regions for international tourism.
Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, Needs Investment in Tourist Infrastructure
News in Asia
While Myanmar is experiencing a rise in numbers of Chinese tourists with the inevitable growth of so called zero-dollar tours, the government is seeking for quality investments for Tanintharyi Region as well as development of sustainable tourism models.