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Environment is Top Concern for Sustainable Tourism in Ngapali

19 May, 2016

Twenty years ago Ngapali Beach, on the Bay of Bengal in Rakhine State a short drive from Thandwe, was an unspoilt gem in the crown of Myanmar’s natural treasures.

Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) and Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), co-hosted the first ever multistakeholder workshop on responsible tourism in Ngapali from 11-13 May 2016.

The workshop was attended by around 90 local and national stakeholders and international beach tourism experts. Download the Workshop report in English and in Burmese.

Parliamentarians from Rakhine State Parliament, local government officials from General Administration Department, Thandwe and Ngapali City Development Committees, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the Tourist Police, hotel owners and managers, tour guides and tourism professionals, restaurant and shop owners, fishermen and local villagers were all present, as were civil society organisations.

Download the full press release to learn about the main conclusions of the workshop:

Press Release (English)

Document PDF, 252.48 KB, 686 downloads, 20 May, 2016

Press Release (Burmese)

Document PDF, 420.34 KB, 600 downloads, 20 May, 2016

Dr Julia Jeyacheya had previously co-authored, with Dr Mark Hampton, the article Coastal Tourism and Local Impact at Ngapali Beach: Initial Findings | Burmese Translation

Background

Hanns Seidel Foundation has worked on the Myanmar government’s 2012 Responsible Tourism Policy and the 2013 Community Involved Tourism Policy
http://www.hss.de/southeastasia/en/myanmar/our-work-in-myanmar.html
http://www.hss.de/fileadmin/suedostasien/myanmar/downloads/130530-Community-Involvement-in-Tourism.pdf
Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) published a Tourism Sector Wide Impact Assessment (SWIA) in February 2015, available at https://www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/swia/tourism.html
HSF and MCRB previous co-hosted multistakeholder workshops in Naypyidaw on responsible tourism (October 2015), and community involved tourism (December 2015).
Myanmar Responsible Tourism Institute is a new non-profit organisation formed in 2016 to support responsible tourism development in Myanmar through knowledge sharing, training and research. For further details see www.myanmarresponsibletourism.org]