Value chain analysis Myanmar tourism

NTF III achieved significant results in establishing community-based tourism in Kayah state, quadrupling tourism spending and increasing the number of tourist arrivals by 140% between 2014 and 2016. Furthermore, 30 tour operators were trained and coached in order to increase their exports, improve their business practices and make the sector more competitive. Lastly, steps were taken to improve capacity at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (MoHT), Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM), and the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA). Nevertheless, it has become apparent that further assistance is needed to expand and increase the quality of services offered by sector associations, improve capacity among government institutions, expand the offer of community-based tourism products, and improve national marketing practices.  

Based on the results and needs stemming from NTF III, a joint decision was made to start a new project in the tourism sector in Myanmar.

This value chain report has been drafted in preparation for the new CBI project on tourism development in Myanmar, parallel to the ITC Netherlands Trust Fund IV (NTF IV) proposal. The purpose of NTF IV is to increase the competitiveness of manufacturers and exporters in selected sectors in prioritised developing countries. The CBI and the ITC have selected four country/sector combinations on the basis of jointly defined selection criteria, including country requests, market demand, CBI/ITC and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs priorities, feedback from Dutch embassies and other donors on how Dutch assistance can best be prioritised, and the comparative advantages of the ITC and the CBI.

The ITC’s NTF IV project in Myanmar builds on the results of “NTF III Myanmar - Inclusive Tourism focusing on Kayah state” by expanding tourism product development to an additional state of Myanmar and further consolidating the results achieved at national and Kayah state level. The same successful value chain approach will be adopted, from product and service development via association strengthening and destination branding to market linkages.

The ITC and the CBI already collaborated closely during NTF III, creating synergies in a number of activities. For the next phase, the approach will shift from localised synergies to integration throughout the tourism value chain. The new ITC-CBI Myanmar tourism programme will have a comprehensive full value chain approach. As a result, it is envisaged that all essential stakeholders, ranging from local ethnic communities, local guides, restaurants, hotels and their suppliers up to the inbound tour operations working with international companies and the government, represented by MoHT and the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), will receive capacity-building assistance.

This value chain report functions as one of the main building blocks in formulating a business case for the new CBI project on tourism development in Myanmar, parallel to the ITC NTF IV proposal. The results from this study feed directly into the design of the new project. The main objective of this report is to arrive at an in-depth understanding of:

1. tourism demand from the European (EU/EFTA) region: its structure, current size, preferences, trends and developments, interest in travel to Myanmar, risks for market decline and opportunities for growth;
2. the supply side in Myanmar in terms of structure and actors regarding the European tourism market and opportunities for and interest in the development thereof;
3. the constraints which hinder small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in increasing exports to European markets;
4. the corporate social responsibility (CSR) risks in the tourism value chain.