Bangkok--Sep 29--eTurbo news
Burma, known as Myanmar, is a rare tourism gem in that tourists are given an opportunity to immerse themselves in unspoiled wonders of nature. Rich in biodiversity, Burma is home to 135 ethnic groups, many of whom live in the remote mountain regions of the country where few Westerners have visited. For varied reasons, including the country's political isolation, Burma remains the least discovered tourist destination of any of the country in the Mekong River region of southeast Asia, which includes Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and the Chinese province of Yunnan.
However, along with the lure of these tourism features is the nagging question: Who is reaping the benefits of Burma tourism? Tourism undoubtedly brings a multitude of economic opportunities. For developing countries, a job in tourism guarantees food on the table, in most cases one meal at a time. While the creation of jobs is a universal feature of tourism, the fact remains that governments are the primary recipients of revenues derived from tourism. According to the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Burma's military regime said it earns US$100 million a year from tourism, with 50 percent of its budget spent on the military.
"Burma's military regime has since 1996 sought to attract international tourists to what is indeed one of the world's most diverse and beautiful lands," said the Burma Campaign UK (BCUK). "Yet large parts of Burma remain off-limits to tourists because of military operations, narcotics trafficking in border areas, and a contentious gas pipeline built across southern Burma."
Tourism manifests a person's ultimate expression of the freedom to move about unconstrained. So, why then should its benefits be limited to an elite few? Should this question even be a concern at all?
Outside looking in
An ardent supporter of Burma tourism is London-based tour group the Lonely Planet. It is the belief of the Lonely Planet that reduction in tourism is a reduction in local income-earning opportunities.
Organizations like the Burma Action Campaign (UK) and Tourism Concern, however, disagreed. These advocacy groups contend that because of the levels of corruption and cronyism that exist in Burma, it is impossible to know whether services sold to private individuals haven't in fact been sold to the regime's own families and business contacts.
Further, the United Nations charged Burma's government as a dictatorship with a "crime against humanity" for its systematic abuses of human rights.
Inside looking out
In our investigation, we have uncovered an insider's perspective on this debate. Interestingly enough, while it bears a pro-Burmese people position, it discourages business dealings with Burma. "The pro-democracy opposition is very much against tourism to Burma," wrote our source. "It's a money-making scheme for the Junta, and the US$300 fee that each tourist pays to enter the country funds one additional soldier."
According to our source, tourism does substantial harm to the Burmese people "since the typical soldier commits at least one serious crime a year against civilians (rape, forced labor, killings, inflicting serious bodily injury, theft of crops and livestock, human shields, forced relocation, confiscation of property, religious abuse, etc.)."
"Don't do any business in Burma, and work hard to discourage your friends in the travel industry from doing so," urged our source.
More than 20 tour operators are currently promoting visit Burma, according to the DVB.
Meanwhile, two Japanese tourists, Agachi and Oyaya-o, have been arrested and detained by Burma's military junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for not obtaining visa within the country to visit a ruby-mine town called Mogok in Shan State, upper Burma, the DVB reported.
The junta's authorities also arrested Ma Zar Chi Oo from 26B Road Japanese Buddhist Missionary Monastery in Mandalay, driver U Maung Maung Gyi, who took the tourists to the town, and charged their hosts U Aung Win and Daw Than Shwe for failing to report the presence of strangers to the authorities.
The authorities discouraged those involved not to leak the news of the incident, according to a tourist guide in Mandalay.
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--InfoQuest (NT)--