'Responsible Tourism' Begins at Home

But punctuality is important to tourists with flight connections and pre-booked travel itineraries, and incessant delays either push travelers towards packaged tours or turn them away from Burma and towards other neighboring countries.

Finally, and most essentially, Burma needs to develop a sound and stable system of currency exchange. Due to Western sanctions, visitors can’t use credit cards and travelers checks in Burma. In an emergency, some hotels in Rangoon will provide a cash advance on a credit card through Singapore, but they will charge a commission ranging from 7 percent up to 30 percent. And since the government exchange rate of approximately six kyat to the dollar is nowhere near the true rate of approximately 800 kyat to the dollar, tourists are forced to rely on shady currency traders who can offer the unofficial “street” exchange rate.

“When the fluctuation of the rate is unstable, tourists ask why, and it is difficult to explain. Of course, this leads to misunderstandings and confusion with the tourists,” a Rangoon-based tourist guide said.

Burmese working in the tourism industry are also embarrassed when they have to explain to foreign visitors why it is necessary to barter sweets, tissues, cigarettes, shampoo and other items in order to change small currency notes, of which there are very few in circulation.

One other important issue that affects tourism is government control over information and the Internet. In a report released by the US research group Freedom House called “Freedom on the Net 2011,” Burma ranked second to last. Burmese authorities even encourage the staff at Internet cafes to view the screens of customers in order to detect and report circumvention of the country’s draconian laws governing use of the Internet. Fortunately, however, most staff members at Internet cafes are tourist-friendly, even offering proxy addresses as a way to attract and retain customers. But the slow speed of public Internet access still annoys most travelers.

To make communications matters worse, Burmese authorities have ordered all public and private Internet cafés to stop overseas communication through VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls, deeming them illegal under existing legislation. Once again, only the most seasoned travelers will be comfortable visiting a country as unstable as Burma where they do not have easy access to information and the unfettered ability to communicate with the outside world.

These issues are just tip of the iceberg of the numerous challenges facing Burmese tourism, but if improvements can be made, Burma can become a highly attractive destination for individual travelers. Just as all travelers agree that Burma is not currently a convenient place to visit, they also agree that the people of Burma are friendly, caring and helpful to foreign visitors.

“To speak with Burmese people, travel with them, sleep in the same place with them and spend all of our time with them was the best experience I have ever had as a traveler,” noted Lucie Durcova, an independent traveler, on the Czech-based website www.ecoburma.com, which promotes responsible tourism to Burma. “In no other country have I ever felt so ‘at home’ among local people,” she wrote.

Currently, however, very few visitors that are arriving in Burma are experiencing true Burmese hospitality at the local level. As so often happens, people waiting for a green light from a prominent leader selectively listen to hear what they want to hear and block out the rest. Apparently, most of those wishing to visit Burma have heard Suu Kyi say that “it’s okay to go,” but have conveniently ignored her caveats to “do so responsibly” and “don’t take package tours.”

Tourist arrivals in Burma reached 106,795 during the first three months of 2011, up 24 percent from the same period in 2010 according to official statistics, but most visitors came either on package tours or for business or social purposes. And while Burma's tourism revenue officially hit US $196 million in 2009, almost double what it was in 2002, most would agree that very little of this money was spent at the local level—it mostly benefited the transportation services, hotels and restaurants used by package tour companies that are owned either directly or indirectly by the government, the military or their cronies.

If done right, tourism can be an opportunity for much-needed economic development for Burma, all of Burma, as well as a way for foreign guests to witness the ancient culture and experience the tremendous hospitality that the country has to offer.