Over 1.8 million Tourist arrivals in five months

Over 1.8 million Tourist arrivals in five months
Published 13 June 2019

Till May this year, the number of tourists coming to Myanmar hit over 1.8 million, a 24-per-cent increase compared with the same period last year. And the number of Chinese tourist arrivals increased to 137 per cent, according to the figures from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population.

A total of 720,883 tourists entered Myanmar by flights,  5,910 by cruise liners, 54,933 through the border gates and 781,726 with tourist visa.

Due to the political situation in Myanmar, the number of tourists from the EU and North America countries has dropped while the tourist arrivals from China, South Korea, Japan and Some Asian countries are increasing. According to the figures till late May, Myanmar received 36,446 tourists from North America, 4963 from other America countries, 84310 from the west Europe, 8737 from the east Europe, 1848 from Africa, 2575 from the Middle East, 629772 from Asia and 13075 from the Oceania countries.

Till May, China topped the list of tourists who entered the country with visa, with 266,301, followed by Thailand with 118,795, Japan with 52,481, South Korea with 52,033, the USA with 31,030, Singapore with 22,659, Vietnam with 21,962, France with 21,716, Malaysia with 19,653 and India with 16,507.

The tourist arrivals from China increased by 137 per cent, South Korea by 85 per cent and Japan by 24 per cent, compared with last year.

Among 14 regions and states, Yangon, Mandalay and Shan receive the most tourist arrivals. Myanmar received 4.6 million in 2015, 2.91 million in 2016, 3.44 million in 2017 and 3.55 million in 2018.