YANGON, 19 June 2012: The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism hopes to upgrade and license guesthouses and small hotels to allow them to accommodate foreign tourists in a move to beat the short supply of rooms.Yangon hotels are charging around 300% more for rooms as business travel to the commercial capital breaks records.
There is a mad rush to take advantage of business opportunities after Europe and the US lifted many of the sanctions that were in place. The trend is pushing aside leisure travel business booked by travel agencies that remained loyal to the country despite its politics.
Myanmar Times said an upgrade of guesthouses and boutique style hotels would help to reduce dependency on a handful of foreign-owned hotels in Yangon that are accused of doubling or tripling rates.
“At the moment travel agents rely only on [foreign-owned] hotels because there are few local hotels that offer reliable service,” said Journey Travel and Tours managing director, U Win Tin. “So this programme is a good step for the industry.”The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, last month, inspected budget and mid-range guesthouses and hotels to encourage them to renovate before the peak season begins in October.
“Travel agencies mostly rely on the foreign joint venture hotels – four and five star hotels – for their packages and that means those hotels can set prices at whatever rate they want,” Directorate of Hotels and Tourism director general U Aung Zaw Win told the Myanmar Times.
“If we can upgrade our local hotels and guesthouses so they are acceptable for foreigners, this could solve the hotel room shortage.”To help hotels meet language requirements, the ministry plans to conduct an English-language proficiency course for hotel staff.According to ministry figures, Yangon has 189 hotels and guesthouses, including five five-star hotels, six four-star, 13 three-star, 21 two-star, 28 one-star and 116 unrated.
Myanmar Times reported that the Strand, Inya Lake and Thamada hotels run by Strand Hotels International (Hong Kong), a joint venture with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, are due to be renovated this year.
“We are going to increase rooms at the Strand Hotel this year,” said Myanmar Hotels International group financial controller and administrative manager, Daw Yu Yu Win.Daw Yu Yu Win said her company was still finalising plans with the ministry to determine how much money would be spent on the renovations.She added that after the renovations were finished, room rates at the three hotels would rise.
The new rates will also be based on anticipated increases in market demand. But right now it is a seller’s market and observers note that even if guesthouses are brought into the equation it will not be sufficient to reverse the rate hike trend.
