THE Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID) yesterday presented the draftDestination Management Plan for the Inle Lake Region, with the aim to support current conservation and management efforts for Inle Lake and its surrounding hill areas.
With support from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, the plan is the first of its kind in Myanmar, and a model for future plans in flagship and emerging destinations country-wide. It is aligned with the 2013 Myanmar Tourism Master Plan in which destination management is a key recommendation.
A result of extensive consultations, interviews, focus group discussions and expert analysis, it covers a region stretching from Ywangan and Pintaya Townships of the Danu Self-Administered Zone in the north to Loikaw City in Kayah State in the south; and from Kalaw in the west to Hopong Township of the Pa-O Self Administered Zone in the east.
It is centred around nine strategies namely sustainable development, heritage conservation, infrastructure development, human resource development, marketing and promotion, business development and support, community empowerment, environmental management and product development.
The strategies are designed around the wishes of local communities of Inle Lake Region, and aim to channel government and private investment as well as donor and aid funding into real identified needs.
Htay Aung, union minister for hotels and tourism, said: “Inle Lake is our natural heritage… no one will visit Myanmar if our natural heritage becomes extinct. We should make a collective push to maintain our landmarks.
“Destination management looks beyond hotels and attractions. It also includes considerations for infrastructure, education, environmental management, products and services, and employment for local people.”
Inle Lake and the surrounding hills form one of Myanmar’s top four flagship tourism destinations, having received about 250,000 visitor arrivals in 2013-14, according to an MIID report.
Joern Kristensen, executive director, MIID, highlighted: “Such rapid (tourism) growth in Myanmar brings new economic opportunities, but can also create uncertainty including environmental, social and cultural changes.
“Planning now for destination management will help guide tourism policy for the long-term conservation of the Inle Lake Region.”
