Tourist arrivals to Burma up more than 21 per cent

Rangoon - The number of foreign visitors passing through Rangoon International Airport rose by 21.8 per cent last year to nearly 360,000, reports said Sunday.

More than two-thirds were from Asian countries, led by Thailand with 59,010 visitors, followed by China with 32,757, the Myanmar Times reported.

Europeans accounted for 65,367 travellers, led by France with 13,102 visitors, Germany with 10,932, and Britain 7,195.

The steady tourism influx is expected to test Burma’s limited infrastructure.

"Arrival numbers are increasing 20 per cent to 30 per cent every year", said Lynn Zaw Wai Mang, general manager of Unique Asia Travel in Rangoon.

"It means we need to build more hotels, expand airlines and develop our infrastructure so we can offer a better level of service to visitors."//DPA