Myanmar allows establishment of more hotel zones

Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has allowed businessmen to establish more hotel zones in three regions of the country in a bid to cope with growing hotel room demand of tourists, tourist circle said Thursday. The 11 hotel zones will lie in Yangon, Mandaly and Taninthayi regions where there are tourist attraction. Myanmar has invested 257 billion Kyats (262 million U.S. dollars in the hotels and tourist sector in the fiscal year 2013- 14. Meanwhile, in the first seven months (Jan-July) of 2013, a total of 318,543 tourists visiting the country, according to official statistics. The number of tourist arrival is expected to rise this year as many foreign visitors are visiting Myanmar to attend ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) in January in Bagan and Mandalay. Meanwhile, Myanmar targets 3 millions of tourists in 2014. In 2012, the number of tourist arrival reached 1.02 million.