YANGON, Myanmar - A lack of tourist attractions combined with overly optimistic developers has left around 80% of hotel rooms empty on any given day in Nay Pyi Taw, the administrative capital.
But while the capital may lack Yangon’s prolific tourist draws, with pagodas, penguins and spitfires on display local hoteliers think Nay Pyi Taw should be pulling in more visitors than it does, according to a report in The Myanmar Times.
The chairman of a local tourism body believes the capital city has "hidden gems" and that better marketing could boost visitors numbers.
Than Htut, chair of the Nay Pyi Taw Hotel Entrepreneurs Association said on average around 1,000 of the available hotel rooms were occupied on any day.
“Most days it’s about 1000 rooms rented, but it’s not regular,” he said. Sometimes there were only 300 or 400 rooms booked across the city, he added.
There are three hotel zones in Nay Pyi Taw with almost 50 hotels offering more than 5,000 rooms. But tourists are rare in the capital, because there are few attractions or tourist sites according to local and international travel agencies.
Than Htut argues that the capital has undiscovered gems.
“There are interesting places in and around Nay Pyi Taw,” he said. “We will uncover them so that people know.”
The hotel association chairman pointed to religious sites including the Uppatasanti Pagoda and the Thatta Thattaha Maha Bawdi Pagoda – both of which have robust reviews on the website TripAdvisor. Nay Pyi Taw also boasts a Water Fountain Garden, a Zoo – one of the largest in Southeast Asia – and the Defence Services Museum, he said.
Than Htut, director of international business relations at Eden Group – a developer that has partnered with the Hilton Group in Myanmar – urged the Nay Pyi Taw Hotel Entrepreneurs Association to provide potential visitors with more details about the city’s attractions.
There should be more information on social media and on hotel websites in Myanmar and in English language, he said. Bagan, one of Myanmar’s ancient capitals and an internationally renowned tourist site, does not need to educate travellers, but Nay Pyi Taw does, he added.
After tourists read abut the capital's attractins they should be provided with more information, including photos, he said. “If they want to contact the attraction and go by themselves, we will provide them with information on the address, phone number, and entrance fees and how long it will take them.”
Hotel owners are also hoping to see more greenery around the capital, following the announcement last year of a five-year city council plan to turn Nay Pyi Taw into a green city.
Win Oo Than, general manager of the Golden Palace Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw, also pointed to the lack of traffic accidents and air pollution.
“All will be wonderful when [tourists] reach Nay Pyi Taw,” he said.
Although a small population and a surfeit of multi-lane highways does mean Nay Pyi Taw can claim traffic is not a problem, the hotel association is also investigating criticism from tourists about areas in which the city falls short.
Than Htut added that efforts to create promotional videos for Nay Pyi Taw tourism are already underway.
“We are making videos about the places that people may be interested in,” he said. “The main point is to inform people about the unknown places and that they can have variety of places to choose from.”
These videos will be distributed at tourism ceremonies, and shown to journalists, he said. The more the information about Nay Pyi Taw’s lures can be disseminated the more the capital’s popularity will improve, he added. Making Nay Pyi Taw popular in the near future is not impossible, but it will take some time, he said.