Sherpa Hossainy
Myanmar needs more coordination between local authorities, business and communities, and increased local participation in tourism-related decisions and the tourist economy in a bid to achieve sustainable tourism growth, experts told a workshop.
The workshop, organised by Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and Hanns Seidel Foundation, was attended by over 100 participants from government, Myanmar tourism companies and business associations, and civil society groups.
It focused on issues such as land rights and culture and environment protection, as well as international NGOs and tourism specialists.
Conference participants were asked to identify their top concerns about the development of tourism in Myanmar. The issue at the top of the list for over 20 percent of participants was lack of local participation in planning at tourism destinations.
Other “top five concerns” were waste and water management, safety, access to land and relocation of communities, and tourism’s impact on children.
The workshop provided reviewed the progress on elements of the Myanmar government’s 2013 Tourism Master Plan relating to integrated planning and zoning, as well as the Responsible Tourism Policy (2012) and Community Involved Tourism Policy (2013).
Many participants noted that while the policies set a strong framework for the involvement of local communities in tourism, in practice this is not taking place on the ground, mainly due to the lack of capacity, money and time needed to achieve effective participatory decision-making. The need for more financial and technical support from donors was highlighted, along with political will.
MCRB presented some preliminary findings from their review of ‘hotel zones’ in Tada Oo, Inle and Bagan. Land and crop compensation in Tada Oo and Inle had led to local conflict, lack of trust, and resentment over land speculation; the Inle Lake Zone was also criticised by visitors and locals for its effects on the landscape and environment. In Bagan the main issues raised by stakeholders were not compensation and livelihoods, but the legality of hotels in culturally protected areas, and the need for consistent and transparent decision-making.
Vicky Bowman, director of MCRB, said, ‘This meeting highlighted how transparency, constant communication and the sharing of lessons learned and different perspectives facilitates better decisions on how to develop tourism sustainably. The recent history of
‘hotel zones’ in Myanmar shows how quick decisions taken without a full understanding of the potential social, environmental and cultural impacts, as well as the needs of the market, and local concerns, can lead to bad outcomes for communities, economic losses for business, environmental degradation and unhappy tourists.”