Myanmar Genocide Has the Travel Industry Searching for Strategies

Repressive governments are a dime a dozen. But a military campaign of ethnic cleansing against a minority population is a notch above the usual filth, and as this horrific scenario plays out in Myanmar, travel brands are weighing how to respond. Tour operators and other travel companies always assess the security situation in any country they operate in. Many have blanket policies for when any type of violence breaks out while others evaluate the situation on the ground on a case-by-case basis. In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, the country's one million Rohingya Muslims have become victims of what many non-government organizations and human rights groups consider genocide by Myanmar's military. More than half a million people have fled the country en masse in recent months to neighboring Bangladesh. This isn't the first time Myanmar's Muslim population has suffered and died under a military campaign, and the travel industry has a history of speaking out against the country's military government. Ethnic tensions have plagued the country for decades. After opening up of the decades-long sanctions against Myanmar a few years ago, tour operators and other travel brands started reentering Myanmar. But the calls for a boycott have begun anew even as Myanmar's military campaign against Muslims -- which started in earnest in 2012 -- feeding off ethnic and religious divisions, has attracted popular support across the country. Years ago, the government erased the citizenship of the Rohingya population and militants began fighting the authorities. Buddhist population, which is more loyal to the government, took offense. Many Buddhists in the country view the Rohingya as outsiders, even though they have lived in Burma for generations. The U.S. Department of State hasn't issued any travel alerts or warnings for Myanmar since the violence resurfaced over the summer. But the State Department's Burma page reads, "Recent violence in Rakhine State has displaced thousands and has resulted in civilian casualties. The U.S. Embassy in Rangoon currently advises against travel to Maungdaw and Buthitaung townships." The U.S. government is also debating whether to levy sanctions against Myanmar's government after the Trump administration said it's considering taking action against the country if the violence continues. The UK governm