Myanma Railways to stop running RBE trains during Thingyan

Myanma Railways will halt services during Thingyan Water Festival.

MYANMA Railways plans to stop operating of some Rail Bus Engine (RBE) trains in the circular and suburban railroad sections during the Thingyan Water Festival, the most widely celebrated public holiday in Myanmar.
Train schedules will be reduced by half on the holidays, as the MR predicts a decline in its passenger numbers during the festival period every year.
The key objective of the plan is to avoid probable damage to trains during the water festival, said U Zaw Lwin, region manager of the MR’s Transport Division.
Although the MR plans to decrease its train schedules, the trains will still stop at all stations.
The MR is now operating its rail transport services to almost 100,000 commuters on a daily basis through 23 trains and 255 scheduled routes.
The MR puts forth continuous efforts to offer better services to the passengers through several railway improvement projects.
Several railway improvement projects including repair of railroads, replacement of carriages and installation of modern signals and communication systems to run all railways yards and workshops to full capacity have been implemented by the MR in collaboration with Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The MR estimates that the number of commuters is likely to increase after the current projects are completed.200

Source : Global New Light of Myanmar

Myeik Archipelago attracts more foreign tourists

Cruise ships in the Myeik Archipelago.

MORE THAN 1,300 motorboat tourists visited Myeik Archipelago in the first two months of this year, a rise from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
The Mergui Archipelago, which consists of more than 800 untouched islands, is part of the Taninthayi Region. All islands lie in the Andaman Sea off the coast of southern Myanmar. Since 2016, the natural, unspoiled islands have become increasingly popular among international tourists, most of whom enter through neighbouring Thailand.
In February alone, the beautiful coastal area hosted over 600 motorboat tourists. It received nearly 4,000 visitors last year. In 2015, a total of 3,270 visitors entered Myeik by boat.
Motorboat tourists from Asia, Africa and some European countries enjoy visiting Myeik Archipelago for its beautiful landscapes along the coast such as coral reefs, mangroves and a diverse species of birds and aquatic animals and traditional culture, such as the sea-based life of the Salon, also known as the sea gypsies, a seafaring ethnic minority.
Tourists also visit the country’s first marine national park on Lampi Island, 115 Island, Nyaungwee Island, Philar Island, Myaukni Island, Bocho Island, Nanatthi Island, Tower Rock Island, Cave Island and Satan Island.
Tourism in Myanmar is growing rapidly. International tourists arrivals have increased significantly every year since 2011.200

Source : Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar eyes higher Chinese tourists next year

Tourists seen at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon on 29 January 2017. The Myanmar Tourism Federation wants to promote Chinese visitors by twofold. Photo: Phoe Khwar

THE Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF) wants to raise the number of tourist arrivals from neighbouring China next year, U Yan Win, the Chairman of the MTF said.

The MTF hopes to double the number of tourists from mainland China, the world’s most populous country, in the coming year. According to a global tourism study, more than 130 million Chinese people travel outside their country each year.

Tourism organisations of both countries are trying to promote the number of Chinese visitors to more than twofold in the future, U Yan Win said at the first China-Myanmar Tourism Cooperation Forum held on 2 March in Nay Pyi Taw to discuss bilateral tourism cooperation and private sector development, apart from promoting Myanmar tourism.

Chinese visitors were the second highest number of visitors to Myanmar after Thailand. Chinese tourists mainly visited the country from borders including Muse, Lweje, Kanpikete, Chinshwehaw and Kengtung.

According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, Singapore has topped the tourism investors list, followed by Thailand, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.—200

Source : Global New Light of Myanmar

Coffee origin tour starts in Ywangan

Workers dry coffee beans under the sun in Ywangan.

COFFEE origin tours have begun in Ywangan, a popular coffee-production village in Taunggyi District, southern Shan State, by Genius coffee with the aim of promoting the country’s tourism sector and creating more job opportunities for residents.

This is part of a plan to boost international tourist arrivals to the country through agriculture-based tourism. The new plan targets coffee lovers at home and abroad, with the project implementers planning to extend agri-tourism services to other townships in the future.

Under the tour plan, visitors travel to the village to observe the manufacturing process and development of the country’s specialty coffee industry. They will gain a lot of knowledge about the cultivation of marketable coffee beans, ways to boost production and other agricultural-related information in the region.

The coffee grown in Ywangan village is the Costa Rican coffee bean variety that was introduced as a substitution crop for opium in 1985. The township boasts 6,600 acres of coffee plantations across over 120 villages, which has the capacity to produce over 700 tonnes of coffee beans annually.200

Source : Global New Light of Myanmar

TRYP by Wyndham Yangon has opened in January 2017

Website : http://www.trypyangonhotel.com/location.html

New management for Mercure Mandalay Hill hotels

Staff welcoming guests at Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel. Phyo Wai Kyaw / The Myanmar Times

LP Holding Co., Ltd has signed a management agreement which will see French multinational hotel group AccorHotels take over the management of Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort, Mandalay Hill MGallery by Sofitel and Pullman Yangon Centrepoint at the Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel.

Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel, situated at the foot of Mandalay Hill, is one of the leading hotels in Mandalay and will return to the AccorHotels fold as Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel. In addition, a new hotel, the Mandalay Hill MGallery by Sofitel, will be built to adjoin to the Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort, while Centrepoint Grand Hotel Yangon will be rebranded as Pullman Yangon Centrepoint.

“Today’s announcement represents a significant partnership with AccorHotels and combines the expertise of a truly global hospitality company with strong local market expertise.

“Myanmar is one of the most sought-after destinations in Southeast Asia since lifting of sanctions,” said Lertsak Nopburanand, director of LP Holding Co.,Ltd.

The Mandalay Hill Resort opened in 1995 under Accor’s global brand Novotel. After EU sanctions were imposed in 2002, Accor relinquished both Novotel Mandalay and Sofitel Project Yangon.

The Novotel Mandalay hotel then came under the management of its owners, LP Holding Co.,Ltd, as the Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel.

The Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort is set in 11 acres of garden and boasts some 206 rooms with restaurants and bars, conference room, banquet centre, spa and fitness centre.

The hotel offers a spectacular view of Mandalay Hill, the Royal Palace, the famous Ayeyarwady River and the city of Mandalay, once the Royal Capital of Myanmar.

The new development, Mandalay Hill MGallery by Sofitel, will be located in the grounds of this hotel and will comprise 120 guest rooms and villas with a restaurant and bar. Additionally a 1000-seat banquet centre will be built to accommodate the growing market of corporate conventions, meetings and wedding events in Mandalay.

The Pullman Yangon Centrepoint is part of Centrepoint Towers, a mixed-use development which includes high-end retail boutiques and a premium office tower. The hotel is located near Yangon’s Supreme Court building and the famous Independence Monument Park.

“Given the lack of internationally-branded, quality rooms in the market, particularly in Mandalay, Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort, Mandalay Hill MGallery by Sofitel and Pullman Yangon Centrepoint are in a great position to take advantage of this undersupplied yet growing market and ride the economic development of Myanmar”, said Lertsak Nopburanand.

Source : Myanmar Times

Mrauk-U airport to be built by tender: minister

The Rakhine State government will invite tenders for the construction of an airport in Mrauk-U, U Kyaw Aye Thein, state Planning and Finance Minister said.

He told The Myanmar Times that the decision to put the airport project out to tender was due to insufficient funds in the state’s budget which allocated K2 billion a year for the project.

Work on the airport started in 2015 but it would take another 10 more years if the government relied solely on state funds to build it, he said.

“We can only spend K2 billion a year on the airport construction. Actually we need K26 billion to complete the whole project, that’s why we decided to tender it out to companies that want to undertake the project,” said U Kyaw Aye Thein.

“The airport can be completed in three years if it is undertaken by the tender winner. It will boost tourism and the economy in Mrauk-U region,” he added.

Mrauk-U is currently accessible by river and road via Sittwe.

U Kyaw Aye Thein also said the location of airport will be away from the ancient archaeological zone.

The airport site is about 10 kilometres from Mrauk-U, between the town and Minbya beside the Sittwe-Yangon highway.
“It is out of ancient archaeological zone,” he said.

There are more than 1500 historical pagodas, some more than 800 years old, in the ancient city of Mrauk-U and the government is bidding for UNESCO world heritage status for the temple zone.

Hoteliers, meanwhile, support the move to build an airport soon in Mrauk-U, and said it would develop the tourism industry and improve the lives of the local population.

“Transportation is very important to attract visitors. Experts say it will take only 18 minutes to Mrauk-U by air from Bagan,” U Hla Myint, founder of Mrauk-U Princess Hotel, told The Myanmar Times.

“The potential for tourism development in Mrauk-U is tremendous, and an airport will help greatly,” he said.

There are six hotels and 13 guest houses in Mrauk-U township.

More than 4000 international tourists visit Mrauk-U every year.

Source : Myanmar Times

Residents and social organisations want to build new jetty in Inle Lake

Visitors take a boat trip in Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe Township.

Inle Lake residents and social organisations want to implement a new jetty project in Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe Township, according to an official from the Save The Inle Lake organisation.

Inle Lake has attracted more tourists, both domestically and internationally, but problems have been reported in the use of motorboats because of the declining water level.

Although most visitors use motorboats to travel to floating villages, the water level has decreased too much in Inle Lake. Vessel walls are being built for the water channels, but construction of the walls has affected the transportation of lake dwellers and visitors by motorboats.

Construction of a new jetty could be built on the west bank of Inle Lake about three miles away from Nyaung Shwe Township. After the jetty is completed, visitors’ travelling would not only be more convenient, but export of agricultural goods from the lake such as tomatoes would also be easier.

Source : Global New Light of Myanmar