Myanmar’s tourism industry will change tremendously in the post-COVID-19 period, said Union Minister for Hotels and Tourism Ohn Maung. 

Trying not to harm public security under a new normal situation, the ministry in close cooperation with tourism-related associations will be taking step-by-step measures in accord with the roadmap to revive the tourism industry, he said. 

The country’s tourism was greatly impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, so three strategies will be adopted for its revival, the minister added. 

The three strategies are survival, reopening and relaunching. Each of them has four tasks. 

The survival stage started in April, the reopening stage will start in June and the final state in August.

The ministry will take measures to establish travel bubbles first with neighbouring Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and then with Japan, Korea and China so as to revive its tourism industry in Asia. When the initial measures are in place, international travellers will be invited to fully revive the tourism industry, the minister said. 

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Myanmar started stay-home measures in April blocking the entry of foreign visitors. About 400,000 foreign travellers visited the country in January. But the number was less than 100 in April. The Covid-19 impact also led to closures of hotels and restaurants.

In 2019, 4.36 million international visitors entered Myanmar, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.