A tourist takes pictures at a temple in Bagan, Myanmar.
Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg
Myanmar’s Tourism Destination Dreams Fade Amid Empty Hotels
- Visitors fell 38 percent last year after figures were revised
- Tourist building boom has left industry coping with room glut
With its sweeping view of the Shwedagon Pagoda, a glittering golden stupa and Myanmar’s top cultural attraction, the Esperado Lake View Hotel should be in an enviable spot. Yet, just two years after it was built, this four-star hotel sits half-empty for many months at a time, according to manager Nero Kyaw Wai. “We aren’t seeing the demand in Myanmar,” he said.
When the country opened to the outside world in 2011 after decades of military rule, the former British colony held promise as one of the world’s hottest tourist destinations, a last frontier for adventure travel. With its lush landscapes and ancient temples, government planners hoped tourism would become a big part of the development equation, just as it has been for neighboring Thailand.