Travel agents from the US said Bagan could be a major draw for American tourists.

INTERNATIONAL commu-nication links and inability to use credit cards are among the factors that deter more American tourists from travelling to Myanmar, travel agents from the United States said last week.

“It took me months to get in touch with the Myanmar Marketing Committee from Chicago,” said Ms Gayl Mark Ring, a travel consultant at Chicago-based NEWS Travel and one of four industry representatives who visited Myanmar last week as part of a familiarisation trip organised by MMC.

However, Ms Ring said she was delighted with the accommodation, transpor-tation and service provided during the trip, which included visits to Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake.

“For the American market, hotel rates are very reasonable and service is excellent,” she said.

“The difference between Myanmar and other countries is that people here are just so nice and honest – they don’t lie you, so it’s very wonderful,” she said, adding that she would definitely try to sell tour packages to Myanmar to American travellers.

She said flexible policies for credit card use are also vital to promoting Myanmar tourism among travellers from the US because most Americans prefer using plastic to carrying cash.

Ms Ring said if the communication and credit card problems were solved, Myanmar would see a threefold increase in tourist arrivals.

Another member of the tour group, Ms Gail Kalmerton, a travel agent from Florida-based Global Travel, said lack of information about the situation in Myanmar also deterred travellers.

“People in the US were concerned when I told them I was coming to Myanmar, and I had no idea what it would be like when I arrived here,” she said. “But once I got here and met people, I felt comfortable.”

Even the name of the country created a deterrent for people planning to travel, she said.

“People don’t know Myanmar, they know Burma – they think they’re two different places,” she said.

Like Ms Ring, Ms Kalmerton said she was delighted with the service in the country.

Ms Kalmerton said the highlights of the tour included watching the stunning sunsets in Bagan and exploring Inle Lake by boat.

Ms Sheila Stein, another travel agent who was part of the group, said she enjoyed Bagan because it offered a quieter experience than some other sites in Southeast Asia such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which can get very crowded with tourists.

“Here we can have a private experience without being interrupted by someone, so it’s a special experience,” she said.

However, she said some tourists would be put off by the restoration work being done in Bagan.

“Restoration in Bagan makes some of the sites look new, whereas in Cambodia they manage to restore it while maintaining the ancient feel,” she said.

Ms Stein said she would encourage older Americans who hunger for new experiences to come to Myanmar, adding that the country could help itself by doing more to promote tourism.

Ms Ring said she agreed, adding that representatives from Myanmar’s travel sector would benefit from visiting the US to learn more about operational manage-ment and to promote Myanmar among interna-tional travellers.