Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has changed her stance on tourism in Burma and has encouraged foreign visitors for the first time. She believes the tourist industry can help to highlight the oppression of her people in the media which could prove a useful tool in bringing about change to the region. However, this is providing the industry is run through private organisations and is not government led.
In 2002, during an exclusive interview with the BBC, she stated that whilst progress with the military government was being made, she would not encourage tourists to Burma. She argued that visitors to the area would not only be directly funding the dictatorship, but also showing moral support for the regime by suggesting the outside world was condoning the human rights abuse of the Burmese people.
Her change in view has been widely welcomed by the tourist industry in Burma. Many involved believed the sanctions ended up doing more harm than good to the people they were supposed to be helping. Amrit Singh, director of TransIndus Travel said: “The call to boycott Burma has had no impact on the military’s stance. It has only managed to isolate the ordinary people by encouraging the world to look away.”
“Our tours do not use any military-owned facilities, hotels, railways or agencies. We use small owner-managed hotels and private guides, and we ensure that the vast majority of the money our clients spend goes directly into the hands of the local people.” Tourism and hospitality is now the largest private-owned sector in Burma, which benefits many small suppliers, contractors and local craftsmen.
However, whilst it is possible to avoid using state-run facilities, it is inevitable that money from tourism will filter down to the junta. Tourists must buy a visa from the government, while taxes from private-run tour operators will end up in the pockets of the military. Despite the call from Aung San to use only private tourist organisations, it is unlikely to be observed by all foreign visitors. Rachel Noble at Tourism Concern said: “You can’t open up Burma to responsible tourists without opening it up to mass tourism by the Chinese, who will happily use hotels used by the regime. You can’t expect everyone to have their consciences pricked by Burma.”
Earlier this month Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was arrested and charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing a US national into her home. Despite claims he was an uninvited guest, she was sentenced to a further 18 months detention. With the next general election in 2010, this was a clear attempt by the military junta to keep her out of the public eye as much as possible.
The last election took place in 1990, with Aung San’s NLD party winning with 58.7% of the votes. However, the government rejected the results and Aung San has spent 11 of the 19 years since in a variety of military detention.
Many British tour operators still refuse to organise travel to Burma and the Foreign Office have urged anyone contemplating visiting the country to carefully consider the effect they may be having on the regime and the Burmese people.
