THE Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is keen to collaborate with Myanmar to promote tourism between the two countries in the lead up to ASEAN being sold as a single destination.
“Thailand would like to promote Myanmar as a destination. We have been developing our tourism industry for about 50 years and we believe there is also a need to promote neighbouring countries. This will be important in 2015 when ASEAN is promoted as a single destination,” said Siriges-a-nong Trirattanasongpol, chief, market action plan section, TAT.
She made the statement during the annual Amazing Thailand Products presentation at Yangon’s Chatrium Hotel on August 27. The event included representatives from eight Thai hotels, four tour companies, two amusement parks and two airlines.
“Discussions about tourism began recently between the governments of Thailand and Myanmar, while TAT has been working with private-sector organisations in Myanmar for the past five or six years. This is already quite a long period of cooperation,” she added.
She said that the number of Myanmar tourists visiting Thailand was “slightly increasing each year”.
Figures from Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports show that 53,271 Myanmar tourists visited Thailand between January and May this year, the lowest number of arrivals from an ASEAN country after Brunei.
When asked whether Thailand would extend its visa-on-arrival programme to cover Myanmar tourists, she said it was a decision for Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s embassy in Yangon.
However, she said TAT is keen to see Myanmar travellers made eligible for visa-on-arrival and said it could be possible by 2015.
