Published on : Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Aung La Nsang “the Burmese Python” has been appointed as Myanmar’s tourism ambassador by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in a move to support the country’s tourism sector.
Aung La, a Myanmar born Kachin ethnic and two-division MMA champion, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Myanmar Tourism Federation, and Myanmar Market Promotion Association during a meeting at Yangon’s Chatrium Hotel on Saturday. The event was attended by the minister for hotel and tourism U Ohn Maung, Yangon region chief minister, and officials from related associations.
U Ohn Maung said that appointing prominent figures “supports the development of Myanmar’s tourism sector”. After his new appointment, Aung La wrote on his Facebook page inviting visitors to Myanmar and “see for [themselves] what our beautiful land has to offer.”
According to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar received 2.5 million international visitors up to September this year, which is flat compared with the same period last year.
While tourist arrivals from Thailand, China, India and Malaysia are up between 5pc and 33pc year-on-year, a drop in the number of tourists from Europe offset those gains. Earlier on October 1, in a bid to promote the sector, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population relaxed the visa regulations from visitors from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau, in addition to according visa-on-arrival (VOA) to mainland Chinese visitors.
The government of Myanmar also permitted Visa on Arrivals to Indian nationals.
Tags: Aung La Nsang, myanmar