31 January
It was reported in one of the world’s news items the other day that the coronavirus crisis cost the global tourism sector US$1.3 trillion in lost revenue in 2020. The reason was that the number of travellers both internationally and domestically plunged so much so that we can call the year 2020 “the worst year in tourism history”, according to the UN.
Furthermore, the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization (WTO) also warned that between 100 million and 120 million direct tourism jobs were at risk.
The impacts of the COVID pandemic on the Myanmar tourism industry and its related sectors are inescapable, too. So, the National Tourism Development Central Committee held its first meeting for the year 2021 on 8 January 2021 for the tourism recovery and revival measures to be implemented in Myanmar in the post-COVID-19 era. It is heartening to know that plans are underway to carry out cross-border tourism arrangements and expansions with ASEAN member countries and Asian countries.
According to the World Tourism Organization guidelines and the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, the national committee has also developed and launched the Myanmar Tourism Strategic Recovery Roadmap-MTSRR (2021-2025). This time the roadmap will focus on promoting natural tourism, ethnic tourism, and environmental tourism while heeding the COVID preventative health protocols. It is also encouraging to know that the MTSRR roadmap, which includes short, mid, and long-term strategic objectives, shall be implemented in tandem with the Myanmar Economic Recovery and Reform Plan (MERRP) during the COVID-19 and post-COVID periods.
We see another salient point in the tourism recovery and revival measures that the “Enchanting Myanmar Health and Safety Protocols” have already been adopted for Myanmar to achieve the Safe Tourism Award from the World Tourism Council. There are many challenges towards obtaining the certification.
“I wish to urge all concerned to cooperate with the relevant departments so that a durable system is established; something that rises quickly and withers away, is not what we want,” stressed the State Counsellor in her video message to the National Tourism Development Central Committee meeting 1/2021.
We need to promote safe tourism. We need to develop community-based and people-oriented tourism. We need to showcase our traditional cultures, cultures of our ethnic nationals as well as the daily social lifestyle of our people. We urge all stakeholders to join hands and collaborate in unity to revive the Myanmar tourism sector.
GNLM
