It was hoped that more tourists would arrive in the open season of this year in Mon State, but there have been almost no tourists, according to the hotel and tour operators and tour guides.
A tour guide from Mawlamyine township said that due to fighting in some parts of the state and the security situation, tourist arrivals have decreased compared to last year.
“Now is the tourist season. From November to January, I look forward to this year more than any other year. But they did not enter. There are many reasons for not entering. Hearing the sounds of battle, they did not dare to come. Looking at the travel rate, it is less than half. It didn’t happen as we expected,” he said.
Currently, the majority of tourists entering Mon State are business people, and research organizations. There have hardly been any other visitors.
According to a Mon-Karen tour guide, tourism numbers are dependent on the political situation. The current political situation is not conducive for tourism.
“With such poor security, we no longer expect more tourists. I don’t think there will be more. Until the security situation improves. Now we can hear the sounds of fighting in many places,” he said.
Tourism decreased following the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020, and then with the February 1, 2021 military coup, tourism was further reduced.
