¡¡¡¡YANGON, January 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Myanmar leader Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt has admitted that his country's tourism industry is under-developed in spite of abundance in favorable conditions in the nation.
¡¡¡¡Speaking at a meeting here on Saturday of Myanmar's Management Committee for Development of Tourism Industry, Khin Nyunt, First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council, called for ways for the development, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday.
¡¡¡¡"Although most sites all over Myanmar can attract tourists, implementation of tasks for tourism development is weak," he complained.
¡¡¡¡According to official statistics, tourist arrivals in Myanmar registered at 77,773 in the first eight months of 2001, a year-on-year drop of 48.82 percent.
¡¡¡¡The number of tourist arrivals also dropped sharply due to the negative impact of the last September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
¡¡¡¡The statistics also show that since Myanmar opened to foreign investment in late 1988, contracted investment in the sector of hotels and tourism has amounted to 1.054 billion U.S. dollars in 42 projects.
¡¡¡¡The country targets to draw 500,000 foreign tourists annually. Enditem