Yangon International Airport is the hub of air travel in Myanmar.

CONVENIENT transportation plays an important role in the tourism industry throughout the world, particularly in countries like Myanmar where the number of visitors is relatively low compared with its neighbours in the region.

A healthy air transportation industry is especially important for bringing tourists into the country, but airline companies face challenges to their ability to sustain business over the long term.

Their task, industry experts say, would be made easier with increased cooperation from the government and from other sectors of the tourism industry, and with better infrastructure in Myanmar.

Some international airlines that have started flying to Myanmar operated for only part of the year – usually the high season.

This inconsistency in schedules has also created problems of trust between tour operators in other countries and travel agents in Myanmar.

“It is important for us to be able to rely on airlines because we need to schedule our programs at least six months in advance of tourists travelling to Myanmar,” said U Aung Myat Kyaw, the managing director of Orchestra Travel and Tours Company.

Tour itineraries are usually prepared based on the schedules of international and domestic airlines in Myanmar, so early notice of flight times is required, he said.

Mr Franz Fischer, the assistant managing director at Diethelm Travel Company, echoed U Aung Myat Kyaw’s opinion, saying that travel agents need to receive announcement of an airline’s launch 18 months in advance.

One prominent airline ticketing agent in Yangon suggested that the reliability of new airlines can only be judged after they have been in business for a few months.

“If they operate successfully for a year or a season – summer or winter – according to the schedule they have announced, then we can believe in them,” he said.

While timely announcements of schedules by airlines can help tourism companies, the airlines themselves can be aided by investment in infrastructure in Myanmar, said Mr Fischer.

U Aung Myat Kyaw suggested that financial inducements be implemented to convince more businesspeople to invest in Myanmar’s airline industry.

Mr Chandaran Menon, the manager of the Myanmar division of SilkAir – which began direct flights between Yangon and Singapore in 1990 – suggested organising a six-month or one-year feasibility study before urging the business community to invest in the aviation business.

Finding a balance between the numbers of in-bound and out-bound tourists can help sustain an airline over the long term, Mr Menon said.

U Aung Myat Kyaw said the best way to increase tourist arrivals in Myanmar is to increase the number of direct long-haul flights from Europe.

The Yangon-based ticketing agent agreed, saying that the country “needs more direct long-haul flights from all over the world.”

“It is not enough to increase flights between Yangon and Bangkok alone,” he said.

But Mr Menon said that inter-Asian travel is booming, with large numbers of people travelling within the region.

“Chinese and Indians in particular are spending money on travelling, so there is a big market opportunity,” he said.

So how can Myanmar tap into this trend and attract more Asian travellers?

U Aung Myat Kyaw said promoting Myanmar food is one way to attract Asian tourists.

Mr Menon agreed, saying traditional food and domestically made traditional products should also be used as a means to draw the attention of Asian tourists.

However, the Yangon ticketing agent warned against relying solely on inter-Asian travel to boost tourism, pointing to differences in spending power and length of stay between Asians and Europeans.

“Europeans usually stay in Myanmar about 15 days and spend all the money they bring, whereas Asians stay for three or four days and are thrifty,” he said.

Mr Fischer said that offering regular direct international flights to tourist destinations in upper Myanmar, such as Mandalay and Bagan, would increase arrivals.

Meanwhile, the number of direct flights into Yangon has been increasing, with 12 international airlines offering service. Among them are Thai Airways International, Silk Air, Air China, Druk Air, Yunnan Air, Malaysian Airlines and Bangkok Air.

Mr Menon said SilkAir will increase the frequency of its flights between Singapore and Yangon from nine times a week each way to 10 times a week in October, and eventually plans to add direct flights from Singapore to Bagan and Mandalay.

In April and August, Thai carriers Bangkok Airways and Phuket Air, respectively, launched daily flights between Yangon and Bangkok.

Another Thai airline, PB Air, will at the end of this month resume the thrice-weekly high-season flights (October to March) between Bangkok and Bagan that it introduced during last tourist season.

In October 2003 Myanmar Airways International celebrated its 10th anniversary by adding additional aircraft to its fleet and introducing direct fights between Yangon and Hong Kong to its schedule at the end of last year. In mid-March it began direct flights to Delhi, India, three times a week.

One of the direct links from Europe, Lauda Air (Austria), will resume its weekly high-season service from Vienna to Yangon in early November, while Lauda Air (Italy) will resume its weekly service between Milan and Yangon at the end of this year.

Qatar Airways, serving the Persian Gulf region, will begin twice-weekly services between Doha, Qatar, and Yangon early next year.

All Nippon Airways – which flew between Tokyo and Yangon from 1996 to 2000 – will add an additional flight to its daily service between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Bangkok in November to expand its Asian network to meet market demands.

Domestic airline Air Myanmar announced in August that it would begin offering two chartered routes – Yangon-Singapore-Sydney, and Yangon-Bangkok-Shanghai-Seoul- Fukuoka – before the end of this year.

Some travel agents and travellers complain about the prices of domestic flights in Myanmar compared to those in neighbouring countries.

U Aung Myat Kyaw said this is because demand for seats on domestic flights was not great enough.

“They need better capacity to lower the prices,” said Mr Fischer.

But as lifestyles change in the country, more Myanmar people are travelling on domestic airlines.

“Local people have more money to spend on travelling, so the only thing you need to do is to raise awareness that arranging trips through travel agencies saves time and money,” said U Aung Myat Kyaw.

Meanwhile, two joint-venture domestic airlines, Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways, and one state-owned carrier, Myanma Airways, offer services to a number of cities in Myanmar, including Yangon, Mandalay, Heho, Kyaingtong, Tachileik, Myitkyina, Sittway, Thandway, Kawthaung and Putao.

A third joint-venture airline, Air Bagan, announced in August that it would begin flying routes between Yangon and other domestic cities in mid-October.

As the number of flights in Myanmar expands, so do the airport facilities.

The Civil Aviation Department under the Ministry of Transport began working on an expansion of Yangon International Airport in September 2002 that is expected to be finished in 2006.

The project includes expansion of the airport building – which was originally built in 1957 – from 360 to 840 feet in length, and from 140 to 250 feet in width, and the addition of a boarding bridge, an automated baggage conveyor system and a new computerised check-in system.

The runway will also be extended from 1800 to 2400 feet in length, and from 600 to 1200 feet in width. And a new two-storey car parking system will be able to accommodate 256 cars.

Myanmar has 28 airports throughout the country, up from 21 before 1988. Many of these are being upgraded by the Department of Civil Aviation, including Bhamo in Kachin State; Magway and Pakokku in Magway Division; Kyaingtong, Lashio and Heho in Shan State; Nyaung U and Aler in Mandalay Division; Thandway in Rakhine State; Pathein in Ayeyarwaddy Division; Myeik and Bokpyin in Tanintharyi Division; and Homalin, Monywa and Kyaukhtu in Sagaing Division.

Most of the renovation projects are expected to be finished in 2006.