Articles tagged “myanmar”

Despite the surge in airfares and visa delays, Indian travelers' enthusiasm remains unabated, and seems unlikely to diminish anytime soon.

Airbnb has lot on its plate: suspensions in multiple jurisdictions, incessant regulatory hurdles and more. But when its comes to business focus, the company is growing and paying more keen attention to how it serves the hosts on its platform.

Airbnb has suspended hosting of all lodgings in Myanmar as the country has implemented strict laws prohibiting foreign tourists from staying at unregistered guesthouses or hotels.

With borders shut and hotels closed during the coronavirus pandemic, this could be the moment for remote training — and virtual reality’s role — in hospitality to shine and take off.

It’s likely to get worse before it gets better for the Asian tourism industry. But forward-thinking players will know to take advantage of the current downtime to meet the pent-up demand for travel once recovery comes — which may not be far off.

This week in tourism news, after decades of isolation, Myanmar finally opened up to tourists, only to scare them off as it perpetrated genocide against its Rohingya minority. Today, Myanmar has real potential to become a thriving destination again, but only if it can overcome its tendency to enflame ethnic tension. Plus, cruise lines are investing in new experiences on private islands.

Rather than boycotting travel to Myanmar entirely, a more responsible form of tourism would be to avoid unethical establishments while supporting good practices on the ground.

Ethical tourism made Myanmar a lost tourism frontier in Southeast Asia. But people are forgetting the genocide, giving the destination another crack.

ASTA’s new Myanmar chapter and planned partnership with Myanmar tourism will give travel advisors new opportunities to learn about an emerging destination. However, it also raises ethical concerns about supporting a country that engages in ethnic cleansing.