Myanmar received over 4.36 million foreign visitors in 2019 according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Tourist arrivals increased by 23 percent compared to 2018 when over 3.55 million foreign travelers arrived in Myanmar, the ministry said. Though a significant increase YoY, this number is still less than what Myanmar welcomed back in 2015.
The ministry recently announced granting visa-on-arrivals to ordinary passport holders from Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg and New Zealand, who will enter Myanmar through Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports, for a three-year probation period until Dec. 31, 2022.
Also, visa-exemption days were extended to 30 days for Vietnamese tourists in Myanmar starting from the first day of this month, while the visa exemption pilot program for visitors from Japan, South Korea and China has been recently extended until Sept. 30 this year.
Though the flow of tourists is increasing, it is now unlikely that Myanmar will reach its own defined objectives of attracting 7 million tourists by 2020, set in 2015 when the tourism industry was booming.
