Vietnam, France and Indian companies are set to become major hotel investors in Rangoon, as investors eye the burgeoning Burmese tourist industry, domestic media reported last week. The demand for hotel rooms has risen as the number of tourists and busines arrivals has increased rapidly. Among them, HAG & Land from Vietnam is expected to invest US$300 million in the hotel sector, and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts from India has also expressed interest. Htay Aung, the deputy minister of hotels and tourism, also said that the Accor Group, the market leader in Europe, is interested in making investments in the hotel industry, Accor operates in 92 countries, in addition, the Shangri-La Group is reported to be prepared to build a 240-room hotel.
Currently, Burma has about 20 foreign-invested hotels in Rangoon out of 35 in the country, which are mainly operated by companies in Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Singapore is currently the biggest foreign investor in Burma’s hotel and tourism industry.
A number of foreign investors in the country’s hotel and tourism industry come from Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Britain, while the United States and other countries have recently expressed strong interest in the sector.
Currently, high-end rooms in Rangoon are normally filled. Burma has a total of nine government-owned hotels and 678 private hotels, and 11 hotel zones in regions where tourists visit frequently. Prices have risen sharply from around US$ 50 to up to $300 for luxury rooms. Last, year, the largest number of tourists came from Thailand, followed by China. France, Germany and the UK. Arrival numbers are increasing by about 20% per year and there is a need to build more hotels, expand airlines and develop our infrastructure to offer a better level of service to visitors
