The ASEAN Tourism Fair will be treated to a traditional Myanmar marionette demonstration.

MYANMAR will send an eight-member delegation to the ASEAN Tourism Fair, which will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from August 2 to 7.

The group – led by the deputy director of the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism, U Hla Htay – will include seven traditional dancers and marionette experts.

“We are now working hard on rehearsals so we can present marionette demonstrations and traditional dances at the fair,” said U Hla Htay.

He said the demonstration will include marionette making – including carving the wood, painting the parts and creating the costumes – and performance, while the dancers will perform popular dances from different national races in Myanmar.

The fair is organised by the ASEAN Japan Centre in different cities in Japan each year to provide an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to display their cultures and tourist attractions.

“Other ASEAN countries will display their best tourist attractions at the fair so we will present our best as well,” said U Hla Htay. “We are attending the fair primarily to promote travel to Myanmar by demonstrating our attractions.”

Of 630,061 foreign tourists who visited Myanmar in 2006, 18,945 were from Japan.