A week-long exhibition was opened on a high note at the popular Central Plaza in Chiang Rai on August 29 in the evening. Under the guidance of Guy Heidelberger, Director of Alliance Francaise and French Honorary Consul in Chiang Rai, the impressive documentary “Mekong” exhibition needed a night-long preparation time to display all the photographs and accompanied captions, maps and other necessary information. Some voluntary helpers were on stand by to make sure that the exhibition will be a sounding success.      

The ribbing cutting ceremony was done by Achan Nakorn Pongnoi, Director of the Royal Foundation Rai Mae Fah Luang. Also, a guest of honor was Rebecca Weldon, Convener of the Informal Northern Thai Group (INTG), who is an outstanding expert on museums in the northern part of Thailand. “It’s a shame that less and less tour groups visit museums when traveling in Northern Thailand,” she explained. That was one of the reasons, why the “Mekong” exhibition was chosen to be held at the shopping mall to reach as much people as possible in Chiang Rai and surroundings.         

After a traditional musical performance of some colorful dancers from the Mae Fah Luang University, there was a VIP tour through the exhibition, which mainly highlights 72 photographs done by expatriate Reinhard Hohler from Chiang Mai, featuring the landscapes and scenery seen during an expedition in November 2002, which started in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan/China, passing through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, before ending in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

The exhibition – first sponsored by the German Embassy in Bangkok - includes photos marking the group’s visit to the gravesite of the famous French explorer Henri Mouhot in Luang Prabang, the transfer of the group’s hovercraft around the scenic Khone Falls on the Lao-Cambodia border, as well as a side trip to the ruins of Angkor in Cambodia and Oc Eo in Viet Nam.

Actually, the unique collection of photos, supplemented by some more art works, is featuring the Mekong River, the longest river in Southeast Asia, which is more and more threatened by the building of dams and industrial development schemes. The river should be protected accordingly. Please note that the exhibition ends on September 4.

Finally, there a plans to bring the exhibition about the “Mysterious Mekong” to the campus of Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai.

For further information, please contact Reinhard Hohler, based in Chiang Mai/Thailand, by e-mail.

Asian Wings has become the first airline in six years to operate direct flights between Thailand’s second-biggest city, Chiang Mai, and Myanmar's second-biggest city, Mandalay.

The new route will fly twice per week, on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, according to Yin Yin Nyo Myint, commercial director of Asian Wings, who added that Saturday flights will begin on Feb 15, 2014.

She said the new route was launched because more tourists are visiting as a consequence of “Myanmar’s economic development along with the political changes.”

Air Mandalay used to have direct flights between Mandalay and Chiang Mai, but the route was suspended in August 2008 because the route had become unviable.

Yin Yin Nyo Myint said she expected Asian Wings’ flight to Chiang Mai to attract enough passengers despite growing competition in the local aviation industry, adding that the company was working hard to promote the new flight in both countries.

“Unlike in the past, we now have more competitors, but we expect our seats to be full on our route,” she said. “More visitors are coming in despite the fact that our market is being shared.”

The number of domestic and international flights in Burma is expected to expand in coming years due to economic reforms and the opening up of the long-isolated country, which is now experiencing a rapid growth in tourist and business visitors.

International investors are eyeing the local airline industry and Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced last year that it would buy a 49-percent stake in Asian Wings.

Asian Wings has a small fleet of four planes and operates flights to 16 domestic destinations. Last year, it also offered charter flights to Bodh Gaya, India, a Buddhist pilgrimage site. Recently, the airline announced it planned to set up flights between Yangon and Phuket, as well as flights to Cambodia’s Siem Reap and even to Viet Nam.

Since 2010, Air Bagan, owned by businessman Tay Za, operates the only direct flights between Chiang Mai and Yangon. Other airliners, such as Air Asia, also fly directly between the Thai capital Bangkok and Mandalay. Nok Air even flies now from Mae Sot daily to Yangon.

Mandalay’s old Royal Palace and former royal capitals in the surrounding countryside make it a major tourist attraction in Upper Burma not far from ancient Bagan and the scenery of Shan State.

Wisoot Buachoom, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Chiang Mai Office, and Asian Wing’s CEO Kyi Win welcomed the new flights, as Chiang Mai boosts a large community of Burmese people.

“We like to have more flights, such as Air Asia and Bangkok Air, from Chiang Mai to Mandalay. If the marketing is going well with Asian Wings, there will be more flights from Asian Wings Airways as well as other Thai flights,” the TAT Director in Chiang Mai concluded.

He said he hoped that tourists from both countries would use the new flight. “Actually Chiang Mai people know about Mandalay, I think many people of Chiang Mai will fly to Mandalay for their vacation. On the other hand, I’d like to invite Myanmar people, especially from Mandalay, to visit us in Chiang Mai.”

Some 300 participants gathered at the Traders Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar on February 18-19, 2014 to attend the 2nd annual Hospitality & Tourism Conference, which was organized by Sphere Conferences, Singapore and co-organized by the Myanmar Tourism Federation, as well as supported by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

It was up to H.E. U Htay Aung, Union Minister, Ministry of Hotel and Tourism, to give the opening address by mentioning the golden opportunities and potentials Myanmar offers in tourism being located between China and India. He also stressed the importance of Myanmar’s Tourism Master Plan, which runs between 2013 and 2020 to accomplish some 39 projects. In addition, Maung Maung Swe, Vice Chairman of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, introduced the mission of his organization to promote Myanmar as a tourism destination, to help in the process of sustainable tourism development, to welcome and assist investors, and to develop human resources for tourism-related industries.

Strategic programs and activities in the hospitality and tourism sector were outlined by Daw Khin Than Win, Director, Tourism Promotion Department and Public Relations, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, referring to the vision that Myanmar will reach 7 million tourist arrivals in 2020, such as E-Visa, branding and marketing, while a representative from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, revealed some details of Myanmar’s Foreign Investment Law. So far, China is the largest investor in Myanmar, followed by Thailand and Hong Kong.

In the afternoon of the first day, Thomas Kyaw Min Htin, Executive Committee Member of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, singled out some new destinations in Myanmar for investment such as the Chin State with its capital Hakka, Putao in Kachin State, areas in Shan and Mon States, as well as beach tourism and river cruises. Also, there was a panel discussion on sustainability for long-term management, where Steven Schipani, Social Sector Specialist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), called the “heart” must go on to make Myanmar a better way to live and minimize environmental impact.

Later, there was a chance for interested participants of the conference to visit the small Myanmar Hotel Solutions, Food & Beverage Show held at the Myanmar Convention Center, Min Dhamma Road in Yangon, to source for the newest products from Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Before the gala dinner back at the Traders Hotel, there was an awards ceremony to name  Traders Hotel as Myanmar’s most outstanding one, Amazing Ngapali Resort as most sustainable one, Yangon’s Padonmar Restaurant as best one, and Asian Trails as the best travel agency in Myanmar.

The second day of the conference saw the keynote panel discussion on developing strategies to reduce the human capital gap faced by the hospitality industry moderated by Daw Kyi Kyi Aye, Senior Consultant, Myanmar Tourism Federation. Also, CEO Charles Blocker, IC Partners Thailand, highlighted the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) as a “hot” investment area. There followed a local hoteliers sharing session on getting familiarized with the Myanmar hospitality industry to underline the importance of the quality of services, as well as a panel discussion on strategies to help small and medium hotel establishments enhance their offerings in a competitive market.

The successful conference ended in the afternoon of February 19 with the spotlight on new and emerging trends and projects within the Myanmar hospitality sector. So, John Farrell, Director of the Myanmar Yacht Services, introduced the Myeik Archipelago as Asia’s next tourism frontier to explore, but warned that access to the islands will be one big challenge because of safety, pollution and bad weather most of the year. Arild Molstad from Norway, Director of Partnership for Change, talked about Inlay Lake in Shan State, which becomes a model for private-public community partnership and has the potential to develop into a world heritage site.

The Closing Conservation, brilliantly moderated by Jehan Wick, General Manager of Yangon’s Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, finally postulated that government officials and investors should “strike when the iron is hot” and going on from here instead of wait and see. Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, Joint Secretary General, Myanmar Tourism Federation, even admitted that Myanmar’s tourism industry is still in its infancy and “finding your own niche” is still possible. Education is most important and this was also the point of Achim Munz, who attended the conference as a resident representative of the German Hanns Seidel Foundation, Myanmar.

The closing remarks were given by U Aung Zaw Win, Director General, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, and it was announced that the next 3rd Hospitality & Tourism Conference under the theme “New Frontiers” will be held in Nay Pyi Taw in January 2015 in conjunction with the upcoming ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) on January 22-29, 2015.

For further information, please contact Reinhard Hohler based in Chiang Mai/Thailand by e-mail.

Pandaw Cruises, pioneers of river cruising in Southeast Asia, is building smaller, shallow-draft vessels to open up the virtually untapped spectacular upper reaches of the Chindwin and Ayeyarwady rivers in Myanmar.
This will mean year-round cruising for the first time through some of the most picturesque mountain and forest scenery in Southeast Asia right up to near the Indian border with calls at towns and tiny villages rarely seen by tourists.

Australian representative for Pandaw Cruises, John Boyd, said the company, which currently operates 11 vessels in Myanmar and Viet Nam with two more scheduled for 2014, was concentrating on building shallow-draft ships for more in-depth exploration.
This was contrary to the policy of other river operators frantic to build or buy large capacity less-navigable river craft for the already crowded Bagan-Mandalay sector of the Ayeyarwady River, he said.
The new shallow-draft 40-passenger Pandaw Kindat and Pandaw Kalaw can cruise to areas in Myanmar no other commercial vessel can reach.

The tiny but luxurious Pandaw Kalay, which went into service in January, is the shallowest draft vessel in Myanmar (75cm). With one spacious owner’s suite and only four main deck staterooms, it is aimed at the private charter market.

All Pandaw craft are replicas of pre-World War II colonial river steamers with comfortable teak and brass staterooms, fine dining and attentive Asian crew.

Source: Pandaw Cruises