Myanmar approves hotel projects

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YANGON, 19 February 2014: Ministry of Tourism and Hotels says the government has granted approval for about 250 hotels with more than 20,000 additional rooms in the Yangon region.

Yangon Region Minister for Hotels and Tourism, U Soe Min, told local media that the approvals are on top of the current 190 licensed hotels that have more than 9,000 rooms.

"As tourist arrivals increase, more hotels are needed and some hotels are expanding…new projects have already opened and more are under construction."

Myanmar Hoteliers Association secretary, U Pyae Phyo Tun, added that the surge in applications to open new hotels in Yangon was driven by the local business community.

"Many Myanmar business people are opening hotels with 50 to 60 rooms, which can be built relatively quickly. These hotels will be essential for Myanmar this year because it is hosting hundreds of ASEAN meetings."

The hotels association chairperson, Zaw Htay Aung, said many popular destinations still lacked enough hotels to accommodate tourists during the high season between November and February.

"Inlay region, famous for its scenic lake and countryside, is one area that still struggles to accommodate growing numbers of visitors."

He said: "Construction of new hotels is moving forward, but we are still short of rooms. It is not so acute as last year. There are more rooms now, although demand is much higher than the supply."

The numbers of tourists has doubled annually since 2011 when Myanmar began a series of reforms that saw sanctions lifted after years of military misrule and isolation.

Following a boom in hotel construction, Inlay region currently has 73 hotels, including 2,031 rooms, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

Since 2010, the tourism industry grown fast, but hotel rates have also sky rocketed from around US$30 to US$190 a night at the top-end of the market.

According to the latest data released by the Myanmar's Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, there are 826 licensed hotels with 29,999 rooms across the country.

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