Mizzima News

Chiang Mai - A proposal to allow tourists to obtain visas on arrival by the Union of Myanmar Travel Association to the Burmese junta has triggered new hopes among Burmese tour and travel agencies.

During a meeting last weekend, the UMTA came up with a proposal requesting the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism to introduce Visa-On-Arrival for the convenience of tourists.

"It is still being processed. We are still discussing it," an official at the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism in Nay Pyi Taw told Mizzima.

The official, however, added that there will be restrictions for some countries but he said everything is still unconfirmed.

According to UMTA, the proposal is a part of promoting the tourism industry in Burma for the ensuing tour season.

Burma's tourism industry suffered a body blow following the monk-led protests in 2007 September and was further hit by the deadly Cyclone Nargis, which lashed the country's coastal areas on May 2-3.

But tour operators and travel agencies said difficulties in visa application are a major reason for the fall in the number of tourists, besides the natural disaster and the political turmoil in Burma.

"If Visa-On-Arrival is granted, I think there will be more visitors from Europe. Most of the visitors wish to come directly from Bangkok. Most of them do not want to wait to get visa," an official of a travel agency in Rangoon said.

There have been instances where they were forced to cancel tour programmes as visitors failed to obtain visa, he said.

Visa-On-Arrival had earlier been introduced in 1996 when the military rulers declared the year as 'Visit Myanmar Year'. But the Burmese Visa-On-Arrival is possible only in countries where there are no Burmese consulates.

Tour companies, however, said even then, tourists are only given Visa-On-Arrival only if they inform their travel agents at least a week in advance and submit their details including photographs and copies of their passport, so that the travel agents can apply in advance before they arrive.

Due to the lengthy procedure, the earlier practice of Visa-On-arrival had become unpopular among tourists and tour companies.

But tourists said, even normal visa applications at Burmese embassies abroad takes at least two days to process.

According to the Burmese Foreign Ministry quoted by the Chinese News Agency Xinhua, the visa process for Burma takes about four days in Beijing, 24 hours in Jakarta, five days in Paris and Tokyo, three days in London and two days in Bangkok and Singapore.