Capturing an Opportunity: The Flood Gates Have Opened

Up until 2010 visiting the various wonders of Myanmar (Officially Burma) were done in a much

different manner. The government had a Hercules type grip on the influx of tourists (and the Burmese people for that matter) and what they were allowed to do. Now tourists and backpackers a like are allowed to roam much of the beautiful country all without a tour guide at their hip side. So what happened in 2010? Well in laments terms, the government changed. With that change new laws were enforced not only for the adventurous blood-thirsty backpackers but the Burmese people as well.

The first guesthouse I stayed at in Myanmar I was met with an extremely intelligent and informative Burmese guesthouse owner, named Anun, who cleared up some things for me on how life has changed for them as Burmese citizens and for the average traveler over the last decade. Here are a few tidbits of information I sucked out of him just hours before leaving his guesthouse.

Before the government change the people of Myanmar were on strict supervision and completely isolated from the rest of the world. By supervision I literally mean there were government spies roaming about the country monitoring citizens by restricting any talk open conversation about the government, good or bad. The isolation factor comes into play with the media, modes of transportation and domestic lines of communication. Up until 2012 the people of Myanmar had three channels of television to watch, all government run. Three!! Present day they have close to hundred raising the number quite a bit in a just a few years. Well sure enough they had internet to see what was going around the world too right? Nope! Internet was released in Myanmar in 2003/2004 but was also monitored by the government and still is. Their current infrastructure for internet is absolutely horrendous so I could only imagine what it was like when it first started ten years ago. Before the government change Anun told me running a business without the direct hand of the government was nearly impossible due to the lack of available personal transportation and lack of telephones. Just a few years back to buy a used car in Myanmar cost around $100,000! Also to purchase any sort of sim-card for a cell phone was nearly $2,000! So in-turn starting up a personal business was not easy with costs like these weighing you down. The good news is cars have already become exponentially cheaper and in two months time sim-cards will be as low $2. These changes along with a few others are the reason Anun was finally able to open his two guesthouses with much greater success then if he would have done it prior to 2010.

Now has all this changed effected tourism?

Well for starters Anun told me that in 2011 there were 500,000 tourists that came through the country. In 2012 the number jumped to 1,000,000 and in 2013 it rose to 2,000,000 with over 3,000,000 projected for 2014. This number will continue to rise as more and more of Myanmar opens up to foreigners. Anun didn't tell me the exact territories or regions that have been released to tourism but I know for a fact places like Inle Lake (pictured below) were only accessible with special permits prior to 2010.

Inle Lake, Myanmar

The new government is also making it easier for tourists to get into the country, physically and logistically. This last January there were three Myanmar-Thai land boarders that opened up and are creating a lot of buzz in the backpacker world. Anun also said that in a just few weeks foreigners will be eligible for Electronic-Visas so it will eliminate the hassle of running to a Burmese embassy in a neighboring country for your visa. There is no time table set but Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia citizens are not going to be in need of a visa to visit Myanmar in the near future. Citizens of those countries will need just a passport from their respective countries. Myanmar is showing the wiliness to attract not just western tourists but their neighboring friends as well.

All of this change combined is making a Myanmar a VERY popular destination. With this popularity it does though create a double edged sword. Sure infrastructure will improve and more hostels will be scattered around the country making accommodation cheaper but this will also take away from the countries purity. I can only imagine Myanmar is similar to what Thailand was three decades ago. My point being is get to Myanmar ASAP before it gets “Thailandized”.