Strong Travel Industry Support for ATF 2015 in Myanmar

Organisers of next year’s ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Myanmar say industry response has been positive, with over 350 Travex (travel exchange) booths already contracted and some 550 applications for the Hosted Buyers Programme received.

The Travex sellers, made up of suppliers of ASEAN travel and tourism products and services, come from the 10 member nations of ASEAN – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and together will take up 8,000 square metres of space.

Themed ‘ASEAN – Tourism Towards Peace, Prosperity and Partnership’, ATF 2015 will be held from 22 to 29 January in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

It is being hosted by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, organised by Myanmar Tourism Federation and managed by MP Singapore and Myanmar Ventures Group.

Participation from the host country Myanmar is at an all-time high. U Phyoe Wai Yar Zar, Chairman of Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM), said, “The local hoteliers, tour operators and other players in the industry are very much looking forward to next year’s event, this being the first time that ATF is coming to Myanmar. It will be our opportunity to share our country’s rich history and culture with the rest of the world.”

MTM is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organisation that functions as the marketing arm of Myanmar Tourism Federation, under the guidance of the Ministry of Hotels & Tourism of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Mr Philippe Battle, Accor’s Area General Manager for Myanmar, said, “Myanmar is a promising market and a new frontier for us in Asia. We have one MGallery hotel open in Myanmar, The Lake Garden Nay Pyi Taw, and a Novotel resort in Inle Lake scheduled to open by October 2014, followed by a Novotel hotel in Yangon. Next year’s ATF in Myanmar will help showcase the country’s potential and we are confident that we will see a rapid growth in bookings in the years to come.”

The official venue for ATF 2015 has been confirmed as Myanmar International Convention Centre (MICC). The key components of the official ATF 2015 programme, such as Travex and ASEAN Tourism Conference, will be held at the newly completed 60,000 square metre exhibition and convention centre. The venue has hosted numerous national level meetings and international business events, including the recently concluded 24th ASEAN Summit.