RECENTLY, I read in a local journal that Laos was inviting Myanmar entrepreneurs to invest in hotels there because the number of tourists to Laos jumped from 38,000 in 1991 to 1.2 million in 2007, creating a serious shortage of accommodation.

I was amazed at that because we had only 654,602 tourist arrivals in 2007. While I was wondering if we should try to find out how they managed to achieve such a remarkable figure, I was heartened to learn that the Union of Myanmar Travel Agents (UMTA) was planning to invite foreign columnists with a paid package tour of Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle, to allay the fears of those unsure if they should visit Myanmar in the wake of yclone Nargis. I heard they were also inviting TV crews to see the true conditions of the country for themselves.

During my visit to Chiang Mai in Thailand a couple of years ago, I was taken to an elephant camp. I was surprised at the large number of tourists there and the amount of money operators were raking in – money we were missing out on. When my tour guide saw my surprise that the mahouts were dressed in costumes similar to those of our Karen people, he told me that some of them were, in fact, Karen from Myanmar. He added that the Padaung women of Myanmar, decorated with brass rings round their necks, were also big attractions for tourists in Thailand.

There are many places of interest in Myanmar for tourists, but it appears that only Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the Royal Palace in Mandalay, the pagodas of Bagan and the leg-rowers of Inle are the focus of the tourism industry. I wonder if it would be possible to add more sights to this list: our elephant camps, the narrow defiles of the Ayeyarwady River between Bhamo and Myitkyina and the ruby mines in Mogok, for example.

Tourism actually is showing off the things a country can take pride in. Tourism is about selling sights instead of goods. To be successful, it is important to know what the tourists want to see and what they like.

The saying “The customer is always right” flashed through my mind, something that also applies to hotels. Previously, there were not many hotels in Myanmar, even during the days of British rule. It was a simple case of supply and demand. There was very little demand from local and foreign clientele.

One reason for the dearth of Myanmar customers was because not many Myanmar were in the habit of going on vacation away from their homes. It was only about a couple of decades ago that some started going to beaches and staying in hotels.

The other reason is the unique and charming practice of Myanmar to stay with relatives or friends instead of in hotels whenever they travel. Some Myanmar think that hotels are for foreigners only because previously there was no need for hotels, so much so that there is no equivalent term in the Myanmar vocabulary – we use the English word phonetically.

The paucity of demand from overseas visitors for hotels in Myanmar was partly because the colonial government made no serious attempt to promote tourism. Big British firms would cater for their workers and clients with private guesthouses. In addition, there were other places like the Pegu Club (now the office of the Controller of Military Accounts), which was a residential club, and the Minto Mansions that stood on Yangon’s Halpin Road (now known as Pyidaungsu Yeiktha) for long-stay guests.

For government officers touring the country, the Public Works Department provided bungalows and Circuit Houses in major towns and villages.

The earliest hotel in Yangon was the Strand Hotel, built by the Sarkies Brothers in 1901. Most others did not survive World War II – the only one still standing, as far as I can recognise, is the Royal Hotel on Merchant Street, which is now the Directorate of Livestock and Fishery.

As early as on the eve of our independence, the Myanmar government in 1947 laid down a plan to promote tourism, in what is now known as the Sorrento Villa Plan. However, the plan could not be implemented because of the insurgency that followed soon after independence.

One of the earliest hotels set up by a Myanmar in Yangon after independence was the Economic Boarding House on Lewis Street, which was founded by U San Lwin, a retired civil servant.

Next was the Orient Hotel, on Sule Pagoda Road, and this was followed by other, smaller ones. Things stagnated until 1960 when the government built the big Inya Lake Hotel with the assistance of the government of the Soviet Union. Then, after a lull, an enterprising Myanmar lady by the name of Daw Aye Kyi built the present Thamada Cinema with a hotel attached. However, when the government changed in 1962 and declared a socialist economic policy, the building was nationalised.

The moribund hotel industry was resuscitated when free entrepreneurship was proclaimed by the government that came to power in 1988. Investors, both foreign and domestic, rushed in to get a head start.

One of the means other countries employ to increase the flow of foreign income is to host large international conferences, sporting events and trade fairs. However, it has been a long time since we last hosted an event like the SEA Games.

While a shortage of hotel accommodation might have been the reason in the past for not hosting these kind of events, I do not think that is a valid reason now. Besides, if there is demand, supply will inevitably follow, as the emergence of hotels in Nay Pyi Taw has shown.

Tourists are now travelling the globe so extensively that it seems there is hardly any place they haven’t been to. They are looking for undiscovered lands, and Myanmar is a potential destination. If we only open our arms to them with our traditional hospitality and warmth, Myanmar will surely become one of their favourite destinations.