(Commentary) It is always wise to take country rankings with a pinch of salt when it comes to friendliness and happiness. And, therefore, when Yahoo Finance rolled around at the end of last month with a ranking of “unfriendly” countries with Myanmar staring at us, we would be wise to exercise a degree of caution.

According to the “25 Most Unfriendly Countries in the World” Myanmar joins the ranks of the likes of Congo, Benin and Saudi Arabia with the claim that the country has an “unfriendly reputation”. The Golden Land came in 15.

Yahoo attempts to explain: “For our list of the ‘Most Unfriendly Countries in the World, ’we based our ranking on three credible indexes: the Visa Acceptance Index, the Global Peace Index, and the Danger and Safety Index.

“Each of these indexes gives us different insights into how friendly or 'unfriendly' a country might seem to outsiders. We selected countries that were included in all these indexes. Each country's score was determined based on a weighted average of its positions in these three indexes. Specifically, the weight distribution was as follows: Visa Acceptance Index: 40%; Global Peace Index: 30%; and Danger and Safety Index: 30%.”

So, what is the reality when it comes to Myanmar?

Many international tourists will do a little bit of homework before flying off to an exotic location. So, unless they have been living under a rock over the last three years, Myanmar should show up with a warning sign flashing – after all, an illegal coup in 2021 has plunged the country into a bitter civil war.

If Yahoo is using their criteria, there should be little surprise that Myanmar would rank poorly – after all, it’s hard for visiting tourists to use a credit card, and if they were to venture out into some areas of the country, the peace, danger and safety monitors would be flashing off the charts.

But friendliness? World travelers wax angrily on travel websites about countries where people are both unfriendly and aggressive. It’s just a fact of life that the populations of some countries don’t treat visitors well – and maybe don’t recognize that tourist dollars can help boost the economy.

But when it comes to Myanmar and friendliness, it’s not the people that are the problem. Chances are, even now in the midst of crisis, the Myanmar people will display their friendliness to foreign visitors. A survey of tourists, if carried out over the last decade, will likely show that Myanmar is one of the friendliest countries in Southeast Asia, even now.

However, what this “25 Most Unfriendly Countries in the World” survey does not do is indicate to foreign visitors how a visit to the Golden Land at this time could be construed as support for an ugly and brutal military junta and that it could be argued as having moral implications.

This has long been a question mark for people visiting countries with bad governments, pariahs on the international stage.

Does your visit signify support? Shouldn’t you stay away?

Myanmar’s tourist industry is currently in dire straits. And some would argue that local guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and guides are crying out for business. The security and economic situation in Myanmar is so bad that people are leaving the country either for their survival or their business. Similarly, youth and students are flying in to the Land of Smiles to study and stay during these hard times. A survey of condominium purchase in Thailand shows Myanmar citizens - those with money - top of the list.

Against this backdrop, the spectacle of groups of foreign tourists signing up for a Myanmar visa and dropping in to the country for a holiday at this time might be viewed by the junta as support for their rule, something for the generals to crow about.

The majority of the friendly Myanmar people remain, battened down in a country in crisis. But until that crisis is over, a visit to the country now could be viewed as a visit of the ignorant, or worse, a tipping of the hat to the junta that the majority of the country’s citizens want ousted.