Myanmar’s tourism gamers name for solidarity after navy coup

Myanmar tourism companies are urging international industry to avoid military-owned operations as the nationwide movement of civil disobedience to the coup continues.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Myanmar’s tourism was dealt another devastating blow when the country woke to a military coup in early February. Since then, resistance has built up across the country as peaceful protesters took to the streets.

Myanmar’s restart of domestic tourism has been halted due to the military coup. People in Myanmar took to the streets last month to protest the coup shown in the picture

DMCs in the destination fear that the military takeover will have devastating long-term effects on the tourism industry. They call on international actors not to boycott the whole country, but to join the nationwide movement for civil disobedience and sanction military-owned and assisted companies.

The local general manager of a leading cruise company said, “International tour operators should blacklist all of these companies and not endorse them. It is very sad because we have to work very hard to rebuild the country’s image. Tourism is always relative to politics. “

Sammy Samuels, founder of Myanmar Shalom Travels, added, “One of the biggest concerns for anyone traveling to Myanmar is whether their money is in any way funding the military operation.”

He said the hundreds of thousands of locals who rely on tourism to survive have already been badly hit by Covid-19. “Being a responsible traveler (or) a responsible tour operator can be part of a strategy to reassure visitors that their visit benefits the local economy and their people,” he added.

The activist organization Justice for Myanmar recently published a list of military-owned companies and is calling for sanctions against them.

The executive director of an international tour operator said that once travel resumes, it is vital that overseas tour operators conduct “due diligence”. He noted, “It is good for tour operators to be very careful and deal with companies and their shareholders.”

While international borders remain tightly closed, Myanmar’s domestic tourism began to surge as Covid restrictions were eased across the country. However, this stalled after the coup.

The cruise company said, “If the military stays in power, we probably won’t be able to do business for another six months and even then will it be enough to keep business going?”