International hospitality giant Banyan Tree Holdings is partnering with one of Myanmar’s largest hotel brands to manage 17 of its properties.

Singapore-based Banyan Tree has announced a 50-50 joint venture agreement with Htoo Hospitality, a.k.a. Myanmar Treasure Hotel & Resort Group. Htoo Hospitality is owned by U Tay Za, one of Myanmar’s richest men, and its portfolio sports Aureum Palace Hotels & Resorts, Myanmar Treasure Resorts and other high-profile local brands. Under the agreement, Banyan Tree will manage 15 existing, and two forthcoming Htoo Hospitalities around the country. Banyan Tree will help the properties grow and thrive, and the company will develop further inroads into the Myanmar hospitality section, Banyan Tree said in a press release.

Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a serious blow to global tourism, in the long term, Myanmar’s tourism has been on the rise. Between January and September of 2019, more than 1.3 million foreign tourists entered Myanmar through its international airports, a 41 percent rise compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The industry has answered this boom with a new wave of hotel and resort projects from both local and foreign investors. The relatively underdeveloped coasts of Tanintharyi Region and Rakhine State have been of particular interest to entrepreneurs, although new, high-profile projects are slated for Yangon, Inle Lake and Mandalay, which enjoyed a record-breaking tourism season.