A lone Buddha image sits at Yadana Semi Pagoda in Inwa.

MYANMAR’S tourism industry was dealt another blow earlier this year when the deadly Cyclone Nargis blew in from the Bay of Bengal. In 2007, more than 600,000 tourists visited Myanmar.

However, the latest crisis for Myanmar’s tourism industry coincided with the launch of a plan by the leading industry players that they hope will lead to the development of a sustainable tourism industry in the country.

“For sustainable develop-ment of tourism, we also need strong media promotion that can show the situation on the ground and what we are trying to do to promote tourism in the country,” said U Thet Lwin Toh, managing director of Myanmar Voyages International travel agency.

He said an encouraging sign for the industry was news that the government is considering lifting restrictions on foreigners travelling to cyclone-affected areas in Ayeyarwady Division, while access to the beaches at Chaungtha and Ngwe Saung will also be granted. Currently, aid workers with government permission are the only foreigners permitted to travel in the delta.

U Thet Lwin Toh said visa policies have also been relaxed since the cyclone and tourists travelling on package tours can now apply for a visa on arrival.

“It is imperative that our industry recovers as soon as possible because the current situation is severely affecting not just tourism operators but also many other business sectors,” U Thet Lwin Toh said.

The government appears to be taking some steps to help the industry recover from the recent disasters. At a meeting of government officials and tourism operators in Nay Pyi Taw on September 9, Prime Minister General Thein Sein said the tourism industry was one of the country’s most important business sectors and essential for economic development and poverty reduction.

Gen Thein Sein said the sector had the potential to improve income generation and raise living standards across the country.

“Tourism not only helps to develop friendly relationships between countries but also brings many benefits to the country’s economy,” Gen Thein Sein said. “Unemployment problems can also be reduced.”

Proposals at the meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, which was attended by no less than 10 government ministers, included further relaxing the visa policy for foreign tourists and publishing and English-language journal to help to promote the industry.

Since the government changed its visa policy for international travellers two decades ago, Myanmar’s previously moribund tourism industry has grown significantly.

However, industry sources say there is still a lot to be done to develop this potentially lucrative industry.

Figures released earlier this year by the World Travel and Tourism Council show that global tourism is booming and the industry has strong growth prospects.

Global income from tourism this year is expected to reach US$5.89 trillion – 9.9pc of the world’s gross domestic product. The London-based think-tank said the number could double in the next ten years.

By the end of this year, approximately 238 million people – 8.4pc of the global workforce – are expected to be employed in the tourism industry. The think-tank said this figure could grow to 300 million by 2018.

But whether any of that expected growth is seen in Myanmar will depend on the “political situation” and “natural disasters”, Gen Thein Sein acknowledged.

Despite the hindrance of sanctions, the tourism sector has made significant progress since 1988 and the introduction of a market-oriented economic system.