A Thai government minister has urged the country’s tourism and hospitality industry to take advantage of investment opportunities in Myanmar, including in Kachin State and the islands of the Andaman Sea.
“Personally, I see a lot of potential in Myanmar, especially in Kachin State, where it snows,” Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post on February 6.
Ms Kobkarn said the Myeik Archipelago in the Andaman Sea, with its pristine beaches and rich marine diversity, also had growth potential as a tourist destination and offered a blue ocean strategy for Thai investors, the report said.
Myanmar and Cambodia were in dire need of tourism-related investment and hospitality knowledge from Thailand to upgrade their tourism destinations, the report quoted her as saying.
“Apart from tourism investment in Thailand, the Thai government sees it as essential to support Thai investors investing offshore, especially in [other] ASEAN members,” she said.
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Ms Kobkarn said her ministry planned to take a group of travel industry representatives to Myanmar this month for talks with her counterpart and businesspeople in the country’s travel industry.
The delegation was due to survey potential attractions in around Myeik, said the report, which did not say when or where Ms Kobkarn was speaking.
