Border gateway opening leads to tourism boom in Myawady

Eleven Media Group
Published on Wednesday, 06 November 2013 17:48 

Tourism has been booming in the border town of Myawady since the government opened the crossing as an international gateway for foreign visitors on August 28, sources say.

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has also encouraged the establishment of tourism agencies in Myawady, according to Ni Ni Toe, managing director of Green Dawna Hill Travel & Tour Co. Ltd.

“Since the government opened Myawady as a gateway for tourists, travel and tours in Myanmar are booming. I also want to show that local women can lead a business as well as anyone. I look forward to sharing with tourists our country’s sights, customs and culture, our influential pagodas and our natural attractiveness, providing the best services at fair prices,” she said at her tour company’s grand opening.

Shwe Myanmar Travel & Tour, Moe Ko San Travel & Tour, Vega Myawady International Travel & Tour and Green Dawna Hill Travel & Tour Co. Ltd. are among the first tourism services businesses to open at the border crossing, and more travel and tour companies are planning to open in Myawady.

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Late monsoon rains hit Myanmar

Published on Saturday, 26 October 2013 22:15 

ELEVEN Media Group elevenmyanmar.com

 Banyardala Street seen flooded in Yangon on Oct 25 (Photo – Aung Myo Thant/EMG)

Myanmar as a whole encountered heavy rains during these past days brought by a low pressure belt in the southwest of Bay of Bengal.

Department of Meteorology and Hydrology announced yesterday the low pressure continued to stay at the Bay, making a cloudier condition in the southeast of it.

"The current rains are due to the low pressure belt in the southwest of Bay of Bengal. It brought the heavy rains to Yangon, Chin and Rakhine states. More rains may come as it stayed," said Dr Tun Lwin, a local meteorologist.

Only two storms formed in the Bay had entered Myanmar this year and it's still possible that at least two more storms may come in late monsoon, according to Myanmar Climate Change Watch.

"Storms formed in Bay of Bengal used to hit Myanmar four times a year. Now it's only two. We should watch out for storms forming in late monsoon," Tun Lwin added.

"Heavy rains came yesterday. It still not rain today (Oct 25), but very cloudy in our area," said a local from Magwe Region.

"It rained in the evening of Oct 25. It's not too heavy. But we're concerned about more rains as the crop plantations in our area can be affected," said a local in Bago Region.

 Yangon was also hit by heavy rains, with its streets gone submerged across the city.

"It rained heavily on Oct 25. Our street was gone submerged. It was not so bad like this before. But now it became worse. Every time it rains, the street goes submerged," said a resident living in Wingabar Street in Bahan Township.

 

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Govt negotiates with Yangon hotels for SEA Games

ELEVEN Media Group
Published on Sunday, 20 October 2013 17:53

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has been discussing with the Shangrila Residence and the Rose Garden Hotel in Yangon about the possibility of being operational in time for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games.

Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw are the two major locations that are expected to face room shortage problems during the SEA Games, according to the Ministry.

The Ministry's director Hlaing Oo said Shangrila Residence will provide 240 rooms while the Rose Garden Hotel will provide 300 rooms so Yangon will have enough hotel rooms if the two hotels can be operational before the SEA Games.

"Shangrila Residence may be able to hold an opening ceremony in November. They are trying their best to provide the rooms. Rose Garden has also submitted that their hotel will be completed by December. So, we think we will be able to get enough rooms," said Hlaing Oo.

Shangrila Residence and Rose Garden Hotel are being built by Hong Kong and Thailand respectively.

Eighty-six hotels will provide over 7,000 rooms in Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay during the SEA Games including over 1,000 rooms from 33 hotels in Yangon.

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Bomb alerts still comes out in spite of making arrests

Published on Saturday, 19 October 2013 17:45

Although authorities have arrested suspects behind the recent bombing incidents, the residents of Yangon remained on high alert for any suspicious material and behaviour, prompting them and the authorities to take quick action.

The Myanmar Police Force gave a press briefing on 18 October to reveal the culprits and related persons behind the recent bomb attacks. The police also pointed to unexploded ordinance that was defused in Phyu, Taungoo, Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing Regions.

In Sawbwargyigon in Insein Township in Yangon on 18 October evening, authorities put up road blocks as troops from the Engineering Division of The Ground Force arrive at the scene that restore order after a group of people mistaken a bag for a bomb.
Eyewitness told authorities that they saw a man threw a paper bag on the side of the road and when a bystander told him to pick up the bag, the man ran away from the scene, prompting others to assume that there was a bomb inside the bag.  After inspecting the bag, it was found out that only clothes were in it.

Similarly, rumors came out that a bomb was found behind the stage in Thiri grounds in Pha-an where a festival was being held. Upon investigation, it was found out that it was only a waste bag.

Similarly, a suspicious looking ice-box was found in front of Soneseeyar Tea shop in Yankin Township in Yangon on 17 October.

When officials from Yankin Police Force examined it, they found an old TV remote control, an old purse and an old battery inside the ice box.

Credit: Eleven Media Group

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US woman injured in blast at Traders hotel in Yangon

MYANMAR TIMES
By Kayleigh Long   |   Tuesday, 15 October 2013
 Three suspects have been detained in relation to a bomb blast at Yangon's Traders Hotel that left a 43-year-old US woman injured, following on from a series of explosions in several locations across the country over the weekend. 
The blast occurred shortly after 11pm on the ninth floor, with the rudimentary device reportedly located in the suite's bathroom. The impact of the explosion caused the room's windows to shatter.
Please click this link to read more.

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8 Myanmar (Burma) Travel Myths: The Guidebooks are Completely Outdated!

Don’t be scared off by the outdated notion of impossible travel barriers in Myanmar. Myanmar is rolling out the red carpet for businessmen and tourists alike. My guidebook printed in December 2011 is impossibly out of date. The CNN travel documentary that aired in May 2013 is factually incorrect about money changers. Here is a summary of the biggest contradictions.

Myth 1: Visa on arrival is impossible to get for tourism

Visa on Arrival is technically not possible for non-business, or non-Chinese-package tourists. But if you go through a good agent, you can arrange to fly to Myanmar without a visa in hand and the process couldn’t be simpler. Just send a picture of your passport and an itinerary. Mine was processed 3 days in advance. Not a single package tour or government hotel required.
They meet you at the gleaming new airport terminal and escort you up to the visa counters where officials are eager to get your dollars in the country, and whisk you through the process in minutes. Myanmar Visa Website

To read more, please follow this link

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Myanmar, Vietnam to cooperate on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders

2013/09/29  xinhua
YANGON, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) — Myanmar and Vietnam will cooperate on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders to strengthen the existing friendly relations in all fields between the two countries, official daily New Light of Myanmar reported on Saturday.
The agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders between the two nations was signed between Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in New York on Friday, the report said.
The move between the two countries desired to simplify the procedures and facilitate the traveling of citizens of the two countries.
Meanwhile, Myanmar will open all border gates to international visitors for entry and exit soon as the next phase after four gates on Myanmar-Thai border were so done recently.
Foreign visitors holding valid passport and visa will be allowed to enter and exit Myanmar through the Muse gate like Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports.
Myanmar grants different categories of visa, namely Entry Visa, Diplomatic Visa, Gratis Official Courtesy Visa, Tourist Visa, Business visa, Transit Visa and Multiple Journey Special Re-entry Visa.
Editor:Li Changxin
Source: www.asean-cn.org

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Myanmar VP calls for adequate facilities to sustain tourism growth

Myanmar's Vice President Dr. Sai Mauk Kham called for upgrading and providing adequate tourist facilities to timely sustain the tourist growth that Myanmar has already achieved, said an official daily on Saturday.
Sai told Myanmar Tourism Development Coordination on World Tourism Day in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday that it is needed to provide adequate facilities including smooth entries, convenient and safe transport, good quality services of hotels, inns, restaurants, and sufficient qualified tour guides to be able to sustain the tourist growth, the New Light of Myanmar reported.
Sai believed that the forum would bring forth a productive and fruitful outcome and serve as a driving force to carry out the program for the systematic and sustainable tourism development, not only for Myanmar but also for the whole region.
Meanwhile, the number of international visitor arrivals in the country in the first eight months of 2013 has reached over one million, with an increase of 58 percent, compared with the same period of 2012.
It is expected that the number of tourist arrival would reach 1.8 to 2 million this year. Foreign visitor arrivals hit 1.06 million last year.

Credit: Mizzima News
News Link:  http://www.mizzima.com/culture/travel-tourism/10204-myanmar-vp-calls-for-adequate-facilities-to-sustain-tourism-growth

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Authorities urge the hotels to finish construction before SEA Games

Authorities urge the companies which are building Shangrila Residence and Rose Garden Hotel to be operational for the upcoming SEA Games, according to an official from Ministry of Hotel and Tourism.

Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw will be the two major locations that will have to provide the needed hotel rooms for the visitors.

The government is hoping that the Shangrila Residence and Rose Garden Hotel would be ready for the upcoming event, according to Director Kaung Htut from Ministry of Hotel and Tourism.

The two buildings are targeted to finish in late 2013 and will provide accommodation about 500 rooms, according to the ministry.

Shangrila Residence and Rose Garden Hotel are invested by Thailand and Hong Kong respectively. Now the two buildings are in renovation state because there is demand for hotel rooms.

“Now we have little hotel rooms with international standard. Thus we are providing what we can to help the constructing for international standard hotels,” the director said.

Myanmar will provide more than 7,000 hotel rooms for forthcoming SEA Games held in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay.

Credit: Eleven Media Group

News Link:http://elevenmyanmar.com/tourism/3563-authorities-urge-the-hotels-to-finish-construction-before-sea-games

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