Travel, regime
Myanmar’s fledgling tourism industry, which grew annually into 2019, was amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. A military coup in February 2021, and the unwelcome return of the junta, struck another blow to the already crippled sector, and by years end, up to 95 per cent of travel companies had ceased operations. In 2023, with all covid restrictions for international tourists scrapped, and elections scheduled for later in the year, could Myanmar soon be back on the travel map?
Myanmar is as enticing as any of its South East Asian neighbours, awash with golden temples, stunning natural landscapes, and a heady mix of ethnic diversity, religion, and politics. The mystique and danger of its isolation has both attracted and deterred visitors for over a century. From Orwell’s first novel Burmese Days to Theroux’s journey in The Great Railway Bazaar and J. Peterman’s burnout, the country has long been a destination for adventure and escape. However, for all its allure, the question of whether one should travel to Myanmar has recently plagued travellers.
The campaign to deter international tourism was initiated in 1995, by democracy activist and Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. On the eve of the junta’s 1996 ‘Visit Myanmar’ promotion, Suu Kyi used her global profile to highlight human rights abuses in the sector and warned that any tourism dollars would flow largely to the regime. The campaign was a success, and the junta failed to attract the half a million visitors they desired. Suu Kyi’s international supporters were buoyed by the result, and the nobility of omitting Myanmar from travel itineraries was born. It took until 2003 for the junta’s goal to be achieved, and another decade would pass before Myanmar welcomed more than one million visitors. As a sobering comparison, neighbouring Thailand, was hosting well over 15 million visitors per year at the same time.
Upon her release from house arrest in 2010, and absorption into the ruling class, Suu Kyi softened her position on the boycott, advocating instead for ‘responsible tourism,’ explaining that the National League for Democracy (NLD) would welcome visitors, ‘who are keen to promote the welfare of the common people and the conservation of the environment and to acquire and insight into the cultural, political and social life of the country.’ Suu Kyi’s shift in position, alongside her rise in the political ranks, resulted in the evaporation of any residual guilt about visiting Myanmar. Companies that had previously tied their boycotts to Suu Kyi overturned them, and tourist numbers exploded through the 2010s, averaging more than 3 million between 2012 – 2019, and peaking of 4.6 million in 2015. The appetite to visit Myanmar is clearly insatiable, and any concerns about human rights and boycotts appears antiquated.
Aung San Suu Kyi addressing a crowd in Melbourne, 2013
With the junta now back in charge, and Suu Kyi once again under house arrest, is there any justification to boycott Myanmar once again?
The original campaign was built on three main arguments. Firstly, human rights abuses within the sector. A 1996 report by the Burma Action Group estimated that up to two million people were enslaved for the construction and operation of tourism infrastructure, including children and prison chain gangs. Furthermore, thousands of people were forcibly removed from their homes, as tourist sites were ‘cleaned up’ in preparation. The second part of Suu Kyi’s boycott related to the state ownership and control of tourist infrastructure. Anyone visiting Myanmar would be directly and knowingly financing the junta, with all fees, charges and taxes flowing directly to their coffers. Finally, Suu Kyi, having recently been granted the Nobel Peace Prize, argued for a moral boycott, ‘I would ask tourists to stay away. Burma is not going to run away. They should come back to Burma at a time when it is a democratic society where people are secure – where there is justice, where there is rule of law. They’ll have a much better time. And they can travel around Burma with a clear conscience.’
In 2023, human rights abuses remain widespread throughout Myanmar. Members of the NLD and other democracy activists face arbitrary arrest and detention, and long running oppression of minority groups continue. However, there is little evidence of modern slavery or labour exploitation within the tourism sector. In the decades since the ‘Visit Myanmar’ promotion, the tourism industry has undergone significant privatisation, with an estimated 600,000 people directly employed. A similar number benefit indirectly, and while the junta still take their cut, through taxes and other charges, tourist dollars are not propping up their regime. In fact, tourist dollars create jobs and raise living standards, something the junta is unable and unwilling to do. Finally, Suu Kyi has contributed more to the erosion of morally inspired boycotts than any number of tourists ever could. Since her release in 2010, her willingness to work with the junta has revealed Suu Kyi as a politician first, and human rights activist second. Her silence on the Rohingya expulsion in 2017 and ongoing genocide in Rakhine state, all to appease a domestic audience, has alienated many of her international supporters, and damaged her reputation and moral authority. However, if the numbers are any guide, it appears that few tourists were listening anyway.
The strongest argument for any ongoing boycott of Myanmar is the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya population. The minority Muslim population have been persecuted since the 1970s, and in late 2016 there was a major crackdown from the government, leading to a large scale expulsion the following year. Communities in Rakhine state had their villages razed, rights stripped, movements controlled, and many were driven into neighbouring Bangladesh where they now live in squalid conditions inside the sprawling refugee camp known as Cox’s Bazaar. In 2022, the UNHCR estimated that almost 400 people drowned at sea when fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh, and despite being one of the deadliest years in the past decade, more Rohingya asylum seekers are expected to attempt the perilous journeys.
Rohingya refugees fleeing in 2017 (Reuters)
The violence against the Rohingya population had no effect on tourist numbers in the 2010s, and they continued to swell, surpassing 4 million in 2019. Clearly, state sponsored repression of minority groups is not a deterrent to travellers. However, this should not be surprising, because nor is it anywhere else. Pre pandemic, China was the 4th most visited country in the world, with more than 65 million visitors. Human rights abuses in China stretch back decades, from Tibet and Manchuria to Tiananmen Square, and Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Elsewhere, destinations like Iran, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Israel, Rwanda, and Vietnam remain firmly on the travel map, while North Korea is seen as a must visit destination by many. Last year’s World Cup in Qatar is evidence of just how significantly human rights take a back seat when there is a dollar to be made or an experience to be had.
As travellers, we must ask ourselves whether we are comfortable visiting Myanmar, or any other country with a similarly repressive government. A good start is to speak with diaspora groups. They can provide you with an insight into the conditions on the ground, and advice on how to stay safe and be a responsible traveller. Also, ask yourself, why am I travelling there? What is the purpose of my trip? Do I want to rush there ‘before it changes?’ Is it the right time to travel there? How will I travel within the country, and who will benefit from the money I spend? Will my presence benefit or possibly harm the local population? These questions and many more can help you decide whether you need to go – to Myanmar of anywhere else.
