LAOS and Myanmar are eager to attract more visitors from Europe, but both destinations admit they are suffering from a lack of overseas marketing.
“Most of the world does not know where Myanmar is, and clearly tourism is in its infancy here,” said Myanmar minister of hotels and tourism Saw Lwin.
Myanmar, formerly Burma, attracted a total of 556,066 visitors last year, a similar number to Laos.
“We are very keen for more visitors from Europe and from the UK,” said chairman of the National Tourism Authority of Laos Cheng Sayavong. “We have to rely on the international media to encourage more people to come.” Laos attracted 10,599 visitors from the UK in the first 10 months of last year, compared with just 528 in 1993. Most travelled overland from Thailand. To encourage more to cross the border from Thailand into Laos, the government has reduced its fee for visas on arrival from $50 to $30.