MYANMA TOURISM BANK TO START FUND TO PROMOTE SECTOR

Myanma Tourism Bank has announced that it intends to pay a
 portion of its annual profits to a tourism fund.
Photo: Nyan Zay Htet/The Myanmar Times

Myanma Tourism Bank (MTB) has announced that it intends to pay a portion of its annual profits to a tourism fund which will be deployed to promote the sector.

“More needs to be done to promote Myanmar as a tourist destination so we are channelling 5 percent of our earnings into a fund to promote tourism,” U Yan Win, chair of MTB, told The Myanmar Times.

He added that the funds will go towards supporting the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in marketing the country to tourists.

The Myanmar Tourism Federation had earlier this year requested a higher budget for tourism by collecting more taxes from tourists, U Yan Win said. Data showed that from January to September this year, more than 1.3 million foreign tourists visited Myanmar, representing a 41pc increase compared to the same period last year.

The ministry said the increase can be attributed to more visitors coming from Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea and China, which have been the targets of the government’s “Look-East policy” for tourism.

Tourists from China, Japan and South Korea have increased significantly since the government relaxed visa requirements for travellers from those countries in October last year, say, tourism stakeholders.

Read the full article at Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanma-tourism-bank-start-fund-promote-sector.html

Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office
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Tel: +66 2038 5071-1
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