Wise News-A land controlled by terrotists

Tuesday, January 4 9:44 AM SGT

A land `unlike

any you know'

Land of enchantment: Royal Lake Lay Kyaung Kandawgyi in Mandalay.

Below, the sumptuous Strand Hotel in Yangon offers de luxe hospitality.

Gerry Xavier

FEELING the need to flee the madding crowd? Head for Myanmar. Its natural beauty, diverse geography, warm gentle people and tranquillity can be your elixir.

These offerings moved poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling to describe Myanmar _ then known as Burma _ as ``quite unlike any land you will ever know''.

It's hardly surprising, therefore, that tourism rapidly has become a major economic growth sector again, after the lifting of travel restrictions within the country.

The ban had been part of Myanmar's unfortunate 30-year experiment with socialism. Now the government is courting foreign investment, and the industry is being given a much-needed boost.

Tourist arrivals have jumped from 60,000 in 1994 to around 200,000 currently, a figure that excludes cross-border visitors from China, Thailand, India and other countries sharing a common frontier with Myanmar.

Visitors from Hong Kong have also increased, with the consulate-general here issuing more than 20,000 visas last year, 3,500 of these were for business travellers.

Visa applications have been greatly streamlined as part the government's effort to attract visitors to country. In Hong Kong, a prospective visitor who submits an application in the morning will receive a visa before 5pm the same day.

To enable visitors to stay longer and to see more of the country, 28-day visas are currently being issued with an optional extension of a further 14 days.

Signs of a further take-off in tourist business are quite noticeable in Yangon, Myanmar's capital, where an increasing number of five-star hotels have sprung up in recent years. The Strand Hotel, one of the few grand old hotels of Asia, built in 1901, was renovated in 1993, and continues to be a national landmark.

It is also still one of the most popular hotels in Yangon and a favourite meeting place for the rich and famous.

Its managing director, Sukhdeep Singh, said the greatest care was taken during the renovation to preserve the the original proportions of the building and to maintain the ``atmosphere of elegance and comfort'' for which the Strand was renowned.

The hotel was owned and operated by the Sarkies brothers, who developed a chain of de luxe hotels in Asia, including the Raffles in Singapore and the Eastern and Oriental in Penang, Malaysia.

To date, more than 45 projects involving hotels, resorts and commercial complexes have been built in Myanmar, most with foreign capital.

Yangon has the lion's share of the facilities. But the government is also looking at other places _ Mandalay, Bagan and Inlay Ngpali _ which have a similar urgent need for tourist facilities. These spots, too, have much to offer visitors whose numbers are growing rapidly.

The government is seeking foreign investment in facilities such as golf courses, beach resorts, tourist villages, theme parks and recreational centres plus related infrastructure like airports, roads, rails and telecommunications.

On becoming a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 1998, Myanmar lost no time in forging joint ventures to boost tourism. These were in addition to existing bilateral arrangements with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand as well as those of the Mekong sub-region.

The government has embarked on an ambitious overseas promotion program and has taken part in tourism fairs around the world, including Germany, Britain, Malaysia and China. It also staged expos in Singapore and Thailand.

A message the Tourism Ministry stresses is that Myanmar is an emerging tourist destination, rich in culture and natural attractions _ and is a short flight from most Asean countries.