The tourist arrival in Myanmar has dropped by 65 per cent from January to July 2020 because of the global coronavirus outbreak, according to the data released by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.Myanmar received a total of 852,432 foreign visitors in the first seven months of 2020, a decreaseof 1.6 million visitors. The same period of last year, the number of tourists who entered the country stood at 2.4 million, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
As of July 2020, a total of 324,329 tourists arrived in Myanmar via the international airports, 889 tourists came to the country via cruise liners, and 40,415 tourists entered through land borders with visa. Besides, 486,799 tourists entered Myanmar via the border crosses.The number of tourist arrival by flights declined by 67 per cent, by ships declined by 85 per cent, by land borders with visa declined by 43 per cent and by cross-border passes declined by 66 percent.Last years, the majority of visitors were from China followed by Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Viet Nam. Citizens of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain also visited Myanmar.
This year, the foreign visitors stopped travelling and lost 72 per cent from China, 63 per cent from Thailand, 72 per cent from South Korea, 72 per cent from Singapore and 68 per cent from Viet Nam.Tourists have cancelled their trips, and the national airline flights have also suspended their operations as the coronavirus has spread around the world. The countries have also denied visas to the tourists.Myanmar tourism sector like that of other countries around the world has been severely affected by the pandemic. Myanmar welcomed 4.6 million tourists in 2015, 2.91 million in 2016, 3.44 million in 2017, 3.55 million in 2018, and 4.4 million in 2019.
Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar