UNWTO
Online hotel booking site Jovago, backed by Rocket Internet and Ooredoo, said it is looking for partner hotels in Chin state as the northwestern state attracts increasing number of visitors.
“Our ambition is to propose hotels everywhere in Myanmar, even in the most remote zones. Chin state is one of them – a very beautiful and quiet region,” Hugo Schliecher, country manager at Jovago Myanmar, told Myanmar Business Today by email.
He said Jovago will call all the hotels in Chin State to propose them to be listed on its website.
“Our team in Yangon will collect all the information about the hotels, create them a profile and promote them to the visitors coming to Jovago’s website,” Schliecher said.
He said there is no limit as to how many hotels Jovago wants to be partners with from the region, because each suits to a specific category of travellers.
Chin state is one of unexplored state in Myanmar with its natural mountain ranges linking with India’s eastern states.
According to Ministry of hotels and tourism, the number of visitors to Chin state is growing fast, with a record 1,990 foreign visitors and 7,430 local visitors, up from a few hundred even five years ago.
However, Chin state has only three hotels approved by the Ministry of Hotels and tourism. More are expected to be opened under the permission of the Ministry as tourist arrivals surge.
The India- Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, which will connect Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar, is seen to increase visitor arrivals through borders.
Jovago said Chin state has huge potential for growth for hotel business. With general election successfully held last year and increasing GDP per capita, the company expects the number of local travellers to increase in the coming years also.
“We are trying to make contacts with all hotels in Chin state, as the destinations in Chin state become popular more and more,” said Schliecher, adding, “We are trying to promote tourism development through contracts with local hotels for online booking.”
The visitors’ must-see places in Chin state include the Natmataung national park, an ASEAN heritage site and heart shaped Reed lake. The visitors also go to Kennedy mountain peak and Tetain’s plain.
Schliecher said Jovago wants to cover the whole Myanmar through its website. “Today more than 500 hotels already trust us and we want 1,000 partners by the end of June.”
From:Myanmar Business Today