Approval for Yangon's hotels

Ministry of Tourism and Hotels says the government has granted approval for about 250 hotels with more than 20,000 additional rooms in the Yangon region.

Yangon Region Minister for Hotels and Tourism, U Soe Min, told local media that the approvals are on top of the current 190 licensed hotels that have more than 9,000 rooms.

“As tourist arrivals increase, more hotels are needed and some hotels are expanding…new projects have already opened and more are under construction.”

Myanmar Hoteliers Association secretary, U Pyae Phyo Tun, added that the surge in applications to open new hotels in Yangon was driven by the local business community.

“Many Myanmar business people are opening hotels with 50 to 60 rooms, which can be built relatively quickly. These hotels will be essential for Myanmar this year because it is hosting hundreds of ASEAN meetings.”

The hotels association chairperson, Zaw Htay Aung, said many popular destinations still lacked enough hotels to accommodate tourists during the high season between November and February.

“Inlay region, famous for its scenic lake and countryside, is one area that still struggles to accommodate growing numbers of visitors.”

He said: “Construction of new hotels is moving forward, but we are still short of rooms. It is not so acute as last year. There are more rooms now, although demand is much higher than the supply.”

The numbers of tourists has doubled annually since 2011 when Myanmar began a series of reforms that saw sanctions lifted after years of military misrule and isolation.

Following a boom in hotel construction, Inlay region currently has 73 hotels, including 2,031 rooms, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

Since 2010, the tourism industry grown fast, but hotel rates have also sky rocketed from around US$30 to US$190 a night at the top-end of the market.

According to the latest data released by the Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, there are 826 licensed hotels with 29,999 rooms across the country.

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New Best Western Property in Myanmar

The opening of the BEST WESTERN Green Hill Hotel, Yangon, marks only the start of BWI’s expansion plans in Myanmar. Next year the company will launch its first hotel in the country’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

Best Western International (BWI) is delighted to announce the opening of its first hotel in Myanmar – the world’s most exciting emerging tourism destination.

The company has now officially launched the Best Western Green Hill Hotel, Yangon – a contemporary, 189-room midscale hotel located in the heart of Myanmar’s largest city, with views of the glittering spires of the stunning Shwedagon Pagoda.

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome the BEST WESTERN Green Hill Hotel into our fast-expanding portfolio of hotels in Asia,” said Glenn de Souza, BWI’s Vice President of International Operations for Asia and the Middle East.

“Once again Best Western International is blazing a trail in the global hospitality industry. Our arrival in Myanmar makes Best Western the first US-based hotel company to establish a presence in this exciting country, since it opened up to international investment. This is a great source of pride for our historic company.

“With the incredible growth and development currently being seen in Myanmar, and incredibly bright forecasts for the future, I am extremely confident that BEST WESTERN Green Hill Hotel will be a huge success. Best Western International sees huge potential in Myanmar, and we intended to be here for the long-term, helping to grow the country’s tourism industry,” Mr. de Souza added.

Best Western Green Hill Hotel, Yangon, offer 189 contemporary guest rooms and suites with a range of modern amenities for the international traveler, including complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, work desks, power sockets and flat-screen TVs with satellite channels.

The hotel also features a restaurant serving Asian and international cuisine, while the corporate and events markets are well catered for, with three meeting rooms offering more than 200m² of function space.

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Bagan Lodge to be launch on August 2013

Poised on the doorstep of one of the world’s most breathtaking archaeological heritage sites, the Bagan Lodge resort in Myanmar has targeted 1 August 2013 for its soft opening.

With stylized tenting and furnishings that evoke the Golden Age of travel, Bagan Lodge’s 85 rooms and suites skirt the boundary of the shrine-studded plains of the Bagan Archaeological Zone.

More than two thousand historic temples and ruins rise from the landscape east of the resort, many dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries at the height of the Kingdom of Bagan.

Conceptualized by noted French designer Brigitte Dumont de Chassart, the interiors and grounds of Bagan Lodge are a melding of traditional Burmese design, colonial-era trappings and contemporary decor.

 Three classes of accommodation range in size from 50-sqm deluxe rooms to the 196-sqm Queen Victoria Suite, which includes four bedrooms, a living room and private garden.

As part of its soft opening, Bagan Lodge will also be cutting the ribbon on its open-air restaurant, Tiffin Box, as well as a spa with eight private treatment rooms, and a 20 x 9-metre swimming pool.

A full-service travel desk will cater to modern-day explorers staying at the resort. Private temple dinners, pagoda tours and fishing excursions on the Irrawaddy are among the activities on offer.

“Of all of the country’s many cultural attractions, Bagan stands out as the ultimate Myanmar experience,” said Shane McKirdy, the resort’s general manager. “This was, and is, a place so fantastic; it exudes an almost mythical appeal.”

Of more than 10,000 tiered brick temples originally constructed, about 2,200 remain standing within the 46-square-kilometre Bagan Archaeological Zone – the largest and densest concentration of Buddhist monuments anywhere in the world.

Situated 300 kilometers southwest of Mandalay, Bagan Lodge is operated by Apple Tree Asia, a hospitality group that owns and manages a collection of boutique properties in some of Southeast Asia’s most intriguing destinations.

A grand opening of the four-star resort is scheduled for later in the year.

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First Hotel of Best Western in Myanmar

Best Western has signed an agreement to take over the management of the Green Hill Hotel, a new property located in the heart of Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.

The 189-room Green Hill Hotel, which is only six months old, will now be operated by Best Western International under its midscale Best Western brand.

The Green Hill Hotel is located in the Tamwe Township area of central Yangon, just 15 minutes’ drive from the stunning Shwedagon Pagoda.

 The hotel’s 189 air-conditioned rooms all feature 32-inch flat-screen televisions with international satellite channels, bathrooms with bathtubs and showers, and complimentary Wi-Fi.

A restaurant serves a selection of Chinese, Asian and international cuisine, while the property also offers meeting room facilities for business travelers.

“There is no doubt that Myanmar is one of the world’s hottest hotel markets at present, with a major increase in new hotel supply needed to cater for a huge influx of guests. So it is vital that hotel owners in the country choose the right partners to ensure optimum performance at their properties,” said Best Western’s Vice President of International Operations for Asia and the Middle East, Glenn de Souza. “We want to be here for the long-term, to help grow the country’s tourism industry. Our partnership with the Green Hill Hotel is just the start of our plans for Myanmar.”

The launch of Best Western International’s first hotel in Myanmar means the company now has a presence in nine of the ten countries that form the ASEAN region.

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Inle Lake woos hotel investors

Inle Lake Monastery

From Threeland Travel's Blog - October 2012

Local authorities in Myanmar have approved land parcels for investors to to build more hotels in Shan State, while another project in Mandalay is still pending approval, the Myanmar Times reported, Monday.

According to the media report, the Shan State government has approved a 622-acre plot near Ingyin Village on the eastern side of the famous Inle Lake. The Inle zone is scheduled for development over the next 18 months.

The land for the Inle zone is about 26 km from Nyaungshwe town, a tourist hub for visiting to Inle Lake.

According to Taunggyi Zone Hoteliers Association secretary, U Aung Kyaw Moe, it will largely depend on the regional government whether hotels are approved and how many acres they will get. For the land leased from the Department of Forestry there is a 60-year build, operate and transfer agreement.

Currently there are 95 hotels with 2,244 rooms in Taunggyi, Kalaw, Pindaya, Nyaungshwe and Loikaw townships, but the numbers are still way below demand, particularly near Inle Lake.

Mr U Aung Kyaw Moe said that some hotels in Nyaungshwe added more rooms, but demand exceeds supply and with more flights to Heho Airport, which serves Inle Lake, hotel bookings have increased 50%.

In Mandalay, a 5,500-acre plot will be opened for hotel investment in Tada Oo township, Mandalay.

According to the Mandalay Zone Hoteliers Association chairman, U Myint Aung, the land was already approved by the regional government.

Apart from Inle Lake in Shan State and Mandalay, there are proposed projects in Bagan near Tuyin Mountain which is about 50 km from town.

Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State. It is the second largest lake in Myanmar. The best time of the year to visit is during September and October.

The nearest airport is Heho Airport, which is 35 km from the lake. There are flights from both Yangon and Mandalay. Yangon is 660 km away by road, Mandalay 330 km.

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Myanmar bans travel to several sites in Rakhine and Shan States

Myanmar 's Ministry of Hotels & Tourism

From Threeland Travel's Blog - September 2012

MYANMAR’S Ministry of Hotels & Tourism has banned foreign tourists from visiting several attractions sites in Rakhine and Shan States until further notice due to instability caused by ethnic clashes.

Banned sites include Sittwe, Mrauk U, Vesali and Mahamuni Pagoda in Rakhine State and Mong La in Shan State, according to a spokesperson from the ministry.

Other off-limits areas include all of Kachin State, as well as Mogok and Nay Pyi Taw – including nearby townships of Pyinmana, Lewe and Tatkon – in the Mandalay Region. “We have restricted access to these areas due to the current situation. I am sure we will allow the tourists (to visit) very soon,” the spokesperson said.

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