BEACH-LOVING tourists are once again welcome to visit the Ayeyarwady Division coastal resorts Ngwe Saung and Chaungtha, after the government decided to relax travel restrictions imposed following Cyclone Nargis.

Dr Nay Zin Lat, secretary general of the Myanmar Hotelier Association, said the government officially granted permission for foreigners to travel to the beach resorts on September 9.

“Following a tourism coordination meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on September 9, which was chaired by Prime Minister General Thein Sein, the permission issue for foreigners visiting to the delta area was negotiated and resolved with the ministries,” Dr Nay Zin Lat told The Myanmar Times on September 15.

He said foreign travellers no longer need to show the permission letters from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the Ministry of Defence to local authorities when travelling to Chaungtha and Ngwe Saung beaches in Ayeyarwady Division.

The restriction on travel to the beach resorts was actually lifted last month by ministerial-level authorities but, until September 9, foreign travellers were still being asked by local authorities at checkpoints to show permission documents. This has now been resolved, Dr Nay Zin Lat said.

“It happened because the local authorities didn’t realise that the ministry had permitted foreigners to travel in these areas of the delta, that foreigners no longer needed permission documents,” he said.

After Cyclone Nargis hit Ayeyarwady Division in early May, the government imposed restrictions on foreign travel in delta areas. Only donors or foreign aid workers were allowed to travel to the delta – with government permission.

Restrictions have now also been lifted on travel to Thanlyin, in Yangon Division, and a local tourism company has begun promoting tours to cyclone-affected areas of the delta region.

Many Yangon-based hotels and travel agents offer car transfers to the coastal resorts. Central Hotel charges locals K10,000 for a one-way transfer and K19,500 for a round trip to Ngwe Saung. The price for foreigners is US$30 one way and $45 round trip.

Daw Khin Po Thaung, managing director of Zabukyaw Transportation & Pilgrimage Tour Service, said foreigners are also able to take the public bus to Chaungtha and Ngwe Saung beaches.

Most resorts in Ngwe Saung and Chaungtha have been closed during the low season but are expected reopen in early October, at the beginning of the peak season. The road between Yangon and Pathein is currently being repaired to reduce transit times, which should make the region more attractive to foreign travellers.

But managers at the beach resorts said that although they have had inquiries from tourists for the coming high season it’s too early to say how much the cyclone will affect visitor numbers.