Starting A Guest House In Myanmar

[Gonzo the Face]

I have been watching the situation in Burma for some time now..

I currently own and operate a guest house in Chiang Mai and have now done so for over 15 years. I have seen great interest from trekkers and backpackers , at least talking about, reading about , and doing some preliminary questioning about the safty re travel to Burma. I think it would be a tremendous market for the trekker type.

I have considered [on a very perlim. basis] the northern part of the Shan State. The greater Lashio area. My wife if from that area and obviously talks much about it. There is an airport there and there are flights from Tachilek, just across from Mae Sai.

Of course I said preliminary thinking. I do see things starting to loosen up as a whole for the country. I see many large international companies making starting moves into the country. My thoughts are that it just may be a little early at this point and would like to see more on how Aung San Suu Kyi is assimilated into the government. But I think that the time is getting very close that this will offer many golden opportunities to outside investors....

Care to share your thoughts ???

Gonzo

[simon43]

Hi Gonzo, I'm thinking exactly the same as you, but right down at the southern end of the country, where the visa-run destination of Kawthaung is only a few hour's drive from my Phuket hotels/guesthouses.

I think (from my on-the-spot research over the past few months), is that I will probably have an easier task than you, simply because the southern tip of Myanmar is not troubled by ethnic divisions/fighting, and the primary smuggling seems to be duty free cigarettes and booze, as opposed to hard drugs.

But I'm not totally familiar with your target area - are there any ethnic issues or fighting/instabilities in that region?

Also - if you are not already a member, I suggest you join the various Myanmar groups on LinkedIn which are a goldmine of information

Simon

[hellodolly]

I have been wondering what kind of visas are available over there.

Tourist visa

long stay visa

business visa

and I have heard that you need a guide for some of the touring.

[CP3]

Both Tourist Visa and Biz Visa are available. Biz Visa is multiple. To some warzone area, you need a guide. Other then that, it is F&E. But well, even tho most of the Myanmar know English, they understand but will have difficulty to reply to you. So it will be better of getting so called a translator.

[Orac]

Both Tourist Visa and Biz Visa are available. Biz Visa is multiple. To some warzone area, you need a guide. Other then that, it is F&E. But well, even tho most of the Myanmar know English, they understand but will have difficulty to reply to you. So it will be better of getting so called a translator.

Are the 'translators' as easy to pick up in Myanmar as they are in Thailand???

[simon43]

CP3, in my visits to south Myanmar, I was actually very surprised to find that almost no-one spoke English or Thai if one walked more than 100 metres away from the visa-run ferry port/sea-front.

I walked around the town for 3 hours and whilst the kids would be able to tell me their names in English, the adult town inhabitants were very friendly (inviting me into their houses and to eat with them), but not one word of English or Thai was understood. I'm guessing that older Burmese (>60 years) learnt the language during the colonial period and would be able to converse in English.

But in any case, for me to pursue business opportunities, I need to learn some Burmese. I've studied it before and there is a passing similarity to Thai, (especially with the written sounds such as 'u' and 'uuu')

Simon

[Naam]

I have considered [on a very perlim. basis] the northern part of the Shan State. The greater Lashio area. My wife if from that area and obviously talks much about it. There is an airport there and there are flights from Tachilek, just across from Mae Sai.

most areas of Shan state and Lashio are still restricted areas as far as tourism is concerned. but due to the recent developments these restrictions might soon be lifted.

[CP3]

xactly...They catch what you'r trying to say but noone will be able to reply to you. Compare to thai, burmese children has to learn english as part of study. But they don't have experience speaking. So it is better to get someone who can speak. To do biz, you will have to learn it definitely.

[Tomtomtom69]

@simon43, I've been to Kawthaung once, back in 2004. I found that the people spoke some English and some Thai but I didn't spend long enough in town to get a real feeling for the place. I believe what you say since Kawthaung is sufficiently isolated from the rest of Thailand by a river that Thai (or even English as Kawthaung is quite isolated even from the rest of Myanmar) may not be widely understood.

On the other hand, a Thai friend from Chiang Saen tells me that in Kengtung, some 160km north of the Thai border in Shan State, the locals are more conversant in Thai than in Burmese since Shan is similar to northern Thai anyway and the Myanmar government is far away and not fully in control of all areas anyway - thus the Burmese influence is limited. Closer to the Chinese border the only language spoken would be Chinese (opposite Daluo). I've only been as far as Tachileik (not just the market but the temples and streets aswell) and found many Burmese traders from other parts of the country that could speak only basic Thai or no Thai at all...although the majority will be able to speak at least some Thai but this is only the case in the market area I would presume.

[simon43]

@tomtomtom69, yes agreed. Because I am now travelling almost every week to Myanmar, I have started voluntary teaching of both Thai and English to the local schoolkids. Thai is important to learn in this region, due to the proximity of Thailand and the easier opportunities to work in Thailand after Asean 2015.

My conversational Burmese is coming along OK, not too hard to learn. I just don't have enough spare time to learn written Burmese right now.

[Rama]

If you're a big player with an international hotel or a big infrastructure provider, then now's the time. For smaller investors, you'll need to wait some years still. Shan state still has 2 rebel armies, no peace agreement. Both Shan rebel armies and the Myanmar army still "draft" child soldiers and conscript village people as bearers for weeks at a time with no pay. Add to that no property laws and the army still conviscating land whenever they want.

I DO think in about a year it would be a good time to open western restaurants in Rangoon and/or Mandalay............

The poor burmese do not speak English. Many of those with any kind of education do, and better than Thais.

For news on the Shan state - http://www.english.panglong.org/

[Livinginexile]

If you're a big player with an international hotel or a big infrastructure provider, then now's the time. For smaller investors, you'll need to wait some years still. Shan state still has 2 rebel armies, no peace agreement. Both Shan rebel armies and the Myanmar army still "draft" child soldiers and conscript village people as bearers for weeks at a time with no pay. Add to that no property laws and the army still conviscating land whenever they want.

I DO think in about a year it would be a good time to open western restaurants in Rangoon and/or Mandalay............

The poor burmese do not speak English. Many of those with any kind of education do, and better than Thais.

For news on the Shan state - http://www.english.panglong.org/

I have recently returned from Yangon after completing an MEP survey of the Governors Resident Hotel and the Road to Mandaley liner for the Orient Express Group.

There is a lot of movement in the hotel construction/refurbishment business and my company is also pricing two new Embassy's coming up soon.

But after two visits, I am completely not interested in working there full time. Reminded me of China in the 1980's.

[Paangjang]

If you're a big player with an international hotel or a big infrastructure provider, then now's the time. For smaller investors, you'll need to wait some years still. Shan state still has 2 rebel armies, no peace agreement. Both Shan rebel armies and the Myanmar army still "draft" child soldiers and conscript village people as bearers for weeks at a time with no pay. Add to that no property laws and the army still conviscating land whenever they want.

I DO think in about a year it would be a good time to open western restaurants in Rangoon and/or Mandalay............

The poor burmese do not speak English. Many of those with any kind of education do, and better than Thais.

For news on the Shan state - http://www.english.panglong.org/

I have recently returned from Yangon after completing an MEP survey of the Governors Resident Hotel and the Road to Mandaley liner for the Orient Express Group.

There is a lot of movement in the hotel construction/refurbishment business and my company is also pricing two new Embassy's coming up soon.

But after two visits, I am completely not interested in working there full time. Reminded me of China in the 1980's.

"I am completely not interested in working there full time. Reminded me of China in the 1980's."

You've lost me there with the China bit, but im interested in your reasoning. What were main aspects or attitudes you didn't like whilst you were there?

[CP3]

What kind of permit needed to run a small hostel kind?

[simon43]

Since early July, I have been living and working full-time in Yangon. As of just yesterday (7th September). I believe the Foreign Business Investment Law has now been approved by Parliament, with some minor amendments to the original text.

But that new law is not of great benefit if you are only interested in starting a 'small' business in Myanmar. The new law offers incentives for those foreigners who wish to own their business outright, without any local partners, but also requires an investment of at least $150k or more, (depending on the business sector).

$150k is not a huge sum to many, but it could be more than is required to set up a small business. If that is the case, then one can still set up the business, but a local partner must be involved, and then you can be in exactly the same situation as in any other country where you need to involve a local partner who is perhaps, not known/trusted by you.

It's probably best to marry a local woman.... (oh wait, did that before! Maybe not the best solution...)

Simon

[zachb]

if your wife is from Myanmar you should get your butt over here and buy some land in her name. Lashio just isn't popular with western tourists because it is more of a Chinese town but it is one of my favorite cities here in Myanmar. There seems to be a sort of anti Chinese feeling here among backpackers and the locals..it is quite sad but it is nothing near as bad as those poor rohinga have it.

In Kyaukme you got one guesthouse that can accommodate foreigners and same goes for Namhsan. This 2 places are very popular with the backpacker type and I only see business getting better in these places. Hsipaw is also popular with 3 guesthouses for foreigners but that town has a very weird vibe going on with some local guesthouses "owning" the backpackers who stay there so no independent shop will help these tourists after they stay in one of the unnamed places.....look it up online...

I would love to meet you because I have similar dreams myself. I am here in Mandalay/Pyin Oo Lwin so if you come up here on an exploratory mission, let me know and we'll get a beer.