EVEN if Myanmar’s tourism industry bounces back later this year in the usual high season, it’s likely to face a shortage of tour guides, a number of guides said last week.

“As a result of the Cyclone Nargis, the tourism industry has been cool and almost no tourists have arrived yet, which means there’s no work for guides. Many of those who were working last year have gone abroad and found new jobs with non-government organisations operating in the delta region,” said U Khine Oo Swe, a tour guide who mainly works for Italian tourists.

“I am also planning to go to Singapore to earn a Master of Business Administration. Most of my friends are already working there.

“I think that when times are tough like this the best thing that I can do is to improve my education,” he said.

Some travel companies have even begun reducing their workforces, including the number of guides they have on staff.

With the cessation of some air routes, including those internationally, the whole industry is suffers a lot.

U Aye Kyaw, the managing director of Ruby Land Travel and Tours, said “the problem is that tourists are not willing to visit Myanmar because this is not a good choice for a vacation at the moment. If we want to overcome this situation we have to invigorate the industry and make sure that tourists know the best things about the country,” he said.

He added that a good publicity campaign where a fraction of package tours, flight tickets, pagoda and archaeological site entrance fees are donated to relief programs would be an excellent plan to revive the industry.