Myanmar-ed by controversy

This article originally appeared in TravelWeekly Australia magazine

Burma has been off-limits to travellers for ethical reasons for decades. But there appears to have been a subtle shift in the opposition to visiting of late. Justin Wastnage reports from Rangoon

Lovers of more exotic travel destinations will have been warmed by news that Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader, has recently dropped her opposition to tourism. For several years Burma has been among the highest profile of rogue states, due to its thuggish military rulers.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest for much of the 19 years since her National League for Democracy (NLD) won a thumping 82% in the last election, has main tained that tourists should stay away. “Burma will be here for many years, so tell your friends to visit us later. Visiting now is tantamount to condoning the regime,” she said in 1995.

Yet tour operators on the ground in Burma (or Myanmar, see box below) have been lobbying for greater numbers of tourists, who bring much-needed money into the hands of ordinary Burmese people.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Burma or Myanmar? Rangoon or Yangon? Like Mumbai and Beijing before it, the government of Burma decided in 1989 to rename its country Myanmar, as well as changing several city names. The name is more inclusive, since the Bamar, or Burmese only account for around 80% of the population. But since most countries do not recognise the government as legitimate, most (including Australia) still refer to the country as Burma.
Most of the Burmese people (including the stridently anti-government) prefer the term Myanmar, although Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy prefers Burma.

Whether Suu Kyi did indeed call for a scrapping of the tourism boycott is moot, as she is banned from speaking publicly. But many within the NLD want tourists. So the fact that ‘The Lady’ might have u-turned has re-opened the debate on whether tourism could help the country more than it hinders.

One thing on which all commentators agree is that the military junta is a vile lot. The State Peace and Development Council, as it calls itself, holds tens of thousands of political prisoners, bans free speech and has forced up to half a million people from their homes.

Even Sylvester Stallone cast the Myanmar regime as the ultimate baddies in the latest Rambo film.

Australia, along with the European Union and the US, has imposed trading sanctions on the country, although the Department for Foreign Affairs does not support a tourism boycott.

But like Cuba, the isolation has left the country as a time capsule. It is a perfectly-preserved slice of pre-tourism South East Asia.

True, the former capital city Rangoon (officially Yangon) is dilapidated and shabby, but has Havana-esque charm. Outside, the country is also stunningly beautiful.

David Mathieson, Burma researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW) sums it up by saying: “Burma is not just a human rights disaster, but a fantastic place with great people.” The Buddhist relics, temples and ruins that dot the land are unrivalled in South East Asia.

The history of this quintessentially Indochinese land, is far richer than the popular destinations of Vietnam and Cambodia, says Karen Hogue, a US travel agent who specialises in the region. Inle Lake, in the country’s interior, is breathtakingly beautiful in its tranquillity, while the beach town of Ngapali has sun-bleached sands unmatched anywhere else in the Mekong. Pagan (or Bagan, pictured above) was the centre of Theravada Buddhism in the 12th Century and is still Burma's top tourism draw.

The Burmese, too, are a huge asset. With a high level of English proficiency, the courteous, gentle and endlessly patient people of Myanmar are not yet jaded by tourists and appear to cherish every interaction with foreigners.

Yet travellers will have difficulty seeing anywhere beyond the “tourist triangle” outlined above. The shiny new capital city Naypyidaw (which translates as ‘the abode of kings’) is reportedly a marvel of obscenely lavish spending, but foreigners are generally prohibited from visiting. Similarly, maps of the country show many regions, towns and even sections of roads from which non-Myanmar citizens are banned.

Previous generals in charge of the country closed it completely; transforming Burma from the richest in South East Asia at time of independence to one of the world’s poorest. The main aim of the tatmadaw (army) has been to preserve national unity at all costs. It has been fighting ethnic separatist groups since independence from the UK in 1948. “Tourists going to Burma
don’t realise there is quite intense conflicts going on relatively near to where they are,” Mathieson says.

Zetty Brake, coordinator for the Burma Campaign Australia is blunter. Inle Lake, which features on most tourist itineraries, lies in the centre of Shan State, site of much of the ethnic disturbance over the past 20 years. Political imprisonments and disappearances are common and the lake’s shores saw “hundreds bludgeoned to death in 1988,” Brake says.

Burma is not a bad country, but it has bad rulers. This could be said for a great number of tourist destinations around the world, such as Zimbabwe. Leon van Neer, Burma general manager of upmarket destination management company Exotissimo says he had previously been in Syria, where he had become convinced about the positive force of foreign visitors, curbing the excesses of police brutality and opening up the eyes of locals to everyday freedoms.

But tourism to Burma, Brake says, is directly linked to human rights abuses in a way it is not in similarly despotic lands. The International Labour Organization found in 1996 that large numbers of forced labourers were working on railway, road, construction and other infrastructure projects, many of which were related to the government’s efforts to promote tourism. Amnesty International reports as recently as 2008 that forced labour continues, although there is some evidence that its use is not as pervasive as it once was.

The Burma Campaign is the most vociferous supporter of a tourism boycott, enlisting the help of celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Susan Sarandon and Helen Mirren. The campaign has been effective, with a recent poll by the UK’s Guardian newspaper showing that 75% of Britons would not venture into Burma. The group also publishes a “dirty list” of companies that promote tourism, which includes Abercrombie & Kent (A&K), Gecko’s, Jetstar, Lonely Planet, Exotissimo and Shangri-La Hotels.

Yet there is strong debate over whether this blanket ban has been effective. The Free Burma Coalition, a US pressure group comprising expatriate Burmese, reversed its opposition to tourism “after having reviewed the effectiveness” of its pro-sanctions campaigns “against the objective of building an open society back home”. The coalition now fully supports tourism and travel to Burma as part of its support for the emergence of an open society. Mathieson concurs, saying that, “so long as they do research before they go, travellers to Burma can be a force for good”.

Su Su Tin, managing director of Exotissimo Myanmar is a living example of the good that can be achieved. Female entrepreneurs are rare in Burma, but Su Su Tin seized the opportunity that presented itself when the government allowed private companies to form joint ventures with foreign firms in 1995. Kyi Kyi Aye, a spokeswoman for the Myanmar Hotels and Tourism Ministry says there are now 16 such joint ventures and 692 locally-owned tourism ventures,
compared with only a handful of direct government-owned businesses.

But Su Su Tin says the pro-boycott lobby has prevented many potential tourists from coming. “If I go to trade shows or talk to agents, some companies don’t want to include Burma because the business would be small compared to the trouble of fending off the boycott,” she says.

In the Australian marketplace, both Wendy Wu Tours and Intrepid Travel have pulled out of Burma on ethical grounds. Much of Burma’s marketing is aimed at non-English speaking markets. Russia is a surprising growth market where the population have less knowledge of the regime.

Exotissimo sells packages mainly to French and Spanish travellers and as such, goes to some length to ensure it uses as little government-owned infrastructure and accommodation as possible. Su Su Tin says this is due in part to the ethical demands of the clients. The company uses privately-owned domestic airlines such as Yangon Airways rather than Myanmar Airlines, the government airline.

Lonely Planet, in its Burma guidebook, debates the implications of spending tourist dollars in the country. It estimates that through visa fees, taxes and licences around 15% of any stay will filter its way to the junta. Brake says the figure is around double this at five-star accommodation. Mathieson says that given the closed nature of the economy private entrepreneurs that want to build upscale accommodation “inevitably” have close connections with the junta.

Some of these connections are more unsavoury than others. Arms dealer Tay Za, on Australia’s sanctions list, is owner of Air Bagan and several upscale resorts. He is a close associate of the country’s ruler, senior general Than Shwe.

AGENT TIPS
❑ Do not use the government- owned Myanmar Tours & Travel (including any of its many affiliates) and avoid, where possible, government-controlled infrastructure.
❑ Use privately-owned hotels and transportation – including airlines – and make direct inquiries on ownership before using those offered by wholesalers.
❑ Advise your clients of both opportunities and potential pitfalls with regards to spending their personal money while in Burma.

Sujata Ramen, managing director of Abercrombie & Kent in Australia and New Zealand is bullish about the benefits of operating in the country. “We’ve kept the office open even under intense pressure and even when there was no tourism,” she says. “We have to show the Burmese that the world has not forgotten them,” she says. A&K was also able to push almost US$650,000 (A$750,000) in aid to local people after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country in 2008. “Without having a local office that money would have gone through government channels,” she adds.

Local people selling souvenirs, postcards and handicrafts are all eager to supplement their meagre income with dollars, she adds. The government is not too concerned with tourism, as oil, gas and logging provides the bulk of its foreign earnings. Mathieson says sanctions are much better targeted at France’s Total Oil, or Western Australia’s Twinza Oil which have both exploited the country’s oil fields. Even the tourism ministry admits most destination marketing
is relegated to private firms, since the government allocates no funds.

The tourism ministry has revised its target for international visitors to 500,000 from the oftquoted one million it announced in 1989. In 2006 a reported 264,000 tourists entered the
country, the best year so far. Exotissimo saw a dramatic drop after the last round of prodemocracy protests in 2007 and again after Nargis, but Su Su Tin expects 2009 to match 2006 levels.

An Australian tourist, Bill, a former commercial fisherman from Darwin, told me in Bagan that a
bigger barrier to tourism for most Aussies is the country’s lack of credit card facilities and mobile
phone roaming, both the result of sanctions. “It’s a real hassle to have to carry around a fortnight’s money in US dollars,” he says.

The real hope is for the future. The military regime is understood to be tearing itself apart with infighting. The ailing and ageing Than Shwe has promised to pursue elections next year, although
opposition political parties are still banned. Sadly, clearly rattled by the prospect of losing, the military government has more than doubled the number of political prisoners in the past two years, including more than 100 imprisoned in recent months, Human Rights Watch says.
A pro-democracy activist in Rangoon, who preferred to remain anonymous, told me the best hope the country has is for a powersharing deal between the military and an elected government.

If the government does change, even partially, the Burmese people expect the tide of tourism to finally turn their way. With one of the most unspoilt countries left in Asia awaiting, it is a tidal wave many in travel can be expected to ride. ■

Justin Wastnage travelled to Burma courtesy of Exotissimo Travel

TWO SIDES OF THE DEBATE
GO NOW
“Peregrine and Gecko’s understand and share the concerns of the global community regarding the current situation in Burma. We firmly believe that our presence in Burma is in keeping with the spirit of Aung San Suu Kyi’s extended comments regarding tourism, and that our presence is a positive one. Our aim is to expose the country to outside scrutiny and to give the Burmese a chance to communicate directly with foreign visitors. It is not an endorsement of Burma's current political system or human rights record.”
Tietse Stelma, operations and responsible tourism manager, Peregrine Adventures

“There is no question that the military dictatorship in Burma is among the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the world. Supporters of a tourism boycott have urged Lonely Planet to abandon publication of its Myanmar (Burma) guide, which they argue encourages tourism and implicitly supports the regime.
Lonely Planet takes this view extremely seriously. We therefore considered long and hard whether we should publish our 10th edition. In the end, we came to the conclusion that it was important to continue. Our aim in publishing this guide is to provide objective information to help travellers make informed decisions about visiting Burma. No one reading our guide could be in any doubt about our opinion of the current regime.
For those who do decide to go, Lonely Planet’s guidebook is one of only very few sources of information that enables travellers to maximise their support for the local population, and minimise the prospect of any money which they might spend going to the military regime.
When such travellers return, we encourage them to speak out about what they have seen, to write to the local Burmese embassy and to share their experience with others.”
Piers Pickard, Acting Global Publisher, Lonely Planet

GO LATER
“Insight Guides has postponed a new edition of our Insight Guide Burma (Myanmar) in the light of recent events. We have every sympathy with those who find the current regime in Burma repugnant and as a publisher and distributor in Asia we do no business with that country.”
Katharine Leck, managing director, APA, publishers of Insight Guides

“Intrepid Travel operated trips to Burma from 1995 to early 2000. We had been very aware of both the positive and negative aspects of running trips to a country being ruled by a corrupt non-elected junta that continues to suppress people’s basic human rights. In 1999, after a review of the political situation and after consultation with many stakeholders, we decided to suspend trips to Burma – the decision was based on a vote made by Intrepid Travel staff.
Intrepid remains committed to the ongoing debate on the role of tourism in Burma. A review of our position was held in June 2002. Three trips ran in 2003, but after a deterioration of the situation there we suspended again. In July 2006 we researched our decision yet again. After a lot of discussion on the pros and cons with many on government organisations, operators and experts, Intrepid chose to continue its stance not to run trips in Burma. We will continue to monitor the situation and review our decision again, when we feel there is more progress towards human rights in Burma.”
Jane Crouch, responsible travel manager, Intrepid Travel