#Galapagos reopens tourist sites after virus lockdown’

The Galapagos Islands on Monday reopened its tourist sites and marine reserve, which had been closed since March due to the corona virus pandemic, Ecuadorian Environment Minister Paulo Proano said.

"Today, under due biosecurity protocols, we are reopening the @parquegalapagos visit sites to contribute to the revitalization of the local economy," Proano wrote on his #Twitter account.

The environment ministry said that visitors must wear masks and use disinfectant gel, adding that "in the case of recreational sites near populated ports, the maximum stay will be three hours."

The Galapagos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, partially opened its beaches for residents in May, when Ecuador began to ease its coronavirus lockdown.

Only six beaches of the Galapagos National Park were allowed to open for three-hour stretches.

The archipelago, with about 30,000 inhabitants, has recorded just 100 COVID-19 infections.

Mainland Ecuador has recorded 68,500 cases and more than 5,000 deaths, with authorities reporting 3,277 other deaths were likely from the virus as well.

The Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, were made famous by 19th-century English naturalist Charles Darwin's studies of their breathtaking biodiversity.

The archipelago received 271,200 visitors in 2019.

Source - The Jakarta Post

#Myanmar aims to attract more travelers from Japan

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               The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism aims to lure more Japanese travelers to the beaches of Myeik archipelago in the JATA Tourism Expo in Tokyo from January 21 to 24,

The ministry will be setting up booths which will showcase the pristine beaches and islands of the Myeik archipelago.

Regional tourism ministers of Tanintharyi Region, Kayah, Rakhine and Kayin states would also be attending the expo to promote tourism development in their areas, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said. 

Among those that will be highlighted at the expo are Ngapali beach, Ngwe Saung beach, Chaungtha beach and Myeik archipelago since 60 percent of Japanese out-bound travelers like to enjoy water activities for relaxation, U Ye Tun Oo, chief executive officer of Vivo Myanmar travel and destination management  company told The Myanmar Times.

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  “Japanese holiday makers will increase if we can create more water activities and attract more working-age travelers. Currently, our destination packages, such as Bagan, Mandalay and Inle lake, are only for retired persons,” U Ye Tun Oo said.

There were over 100,000 Japanese travelers who visited Myanmar in 2016, but only 15pc of them are tourists while 85pc are business travelers, cooperation workers and workers in INGOs.

Myanmar had a total of 2.9 million foreign tourists in 2016, a decline of  about 38pc from a year ago.  

“It doesn’t matter if the percentage of tourists decline, the more important factor is we need to have real tourists statistics which is our ministry’s responsibility. We want tourists to be satisfied during their trip and then share their experiences about our country to their friends. It is a word of mouth promotion,” said U Ohn Maung, union minister of hotels and tourism on July 29.

According to the tourist arrival statistics, travelers from Asia market -- the medium and short-haul countries -- are still main market for Myanmar rather than the long-haul market, U Ye Tun Oo said.

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We want tourists to be satisfied during their trip and share their experiences with their friends,” said Minister U Ohn Maung. The Myanmar Times

“If we can promote in China, South Korea and Japan in-bound markets that would be more reliable tourism development. That is why we need to extend to short and medium-haul markets,” he said.

However, beaches destination in Myanmar need to create more water activities for tourists because it is very weak at the moment. Basic infrastructure such as accessibility, public toilets along the high way road, recreation parks, as well as human resources development still needs a lot of improvement, he said.

The horse-cart drivers in Mingin in Sagaing Region and Inwa in Mandalay drive like they are in a horse-cart race when they take visitors. They should be trained to take better care of the visitors. We need to improve human resources skills first, U Thet Lwin Toh, chairman of Union of Myanmar Travel Association told The Myanmar Times.  

  

“If we will implement tourism development without preparing basic infrastructure for the tourists, they all will not return again. So we need to be well integrated with private, public and government to be prepared to satisfy our customers, “U Ye Tun Oo said. 

The  Ministry of Hotel and Tourism said that from January to end July a total of 2,019,749 tourists visited the country, a 22pc increase from the same period last year.

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