[Myanmar] Opening of Overland Border Gates Could Boost Burma Tourism, Investment

[News_Editor]

The Tachileik-Mae Sai border crossing between Burma and Thailand. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — As of Wednesday, foreign visitors with Burmese visas are allowed to enter and leave Burma overland through four gates along its eastern border with Thailand.

Officials and ethnic representatives said the decision would boost the tourism industry and facilitate foreign investment in ethnic areas and the rest of Burma.

The decision to open up international road travel ends decades-long restrictions introduced by Burma’s previous military government, which was wary of foreign visitors and wanted to limit access to the conflict-ridden ethnic areas along the border.

Foreign nationals can now enter and exit Burma at Tachileik-Mae Sai and Myawaddy-Mae Sot border gates, at the recently-opened crossing Htee Khee-Sunaron and through the Kawthaung-Ranong gate, located at Burma’s most southern point, the Ministry of Immigration and Population announced on Tuesday.

Travelers passing through these gates are allowed to leave via international airports in Rangoon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay, the ministry said, adding that visa on arrival is not available at the border gates.

Minister of Hotels and Tourism Htay Aung reportedly attended an official ceremony at Myawaddy-Mae Sot border crossing on Wednesday to mark its opening for foreign visitors.

The decision is the result of a bilateral agreement between the Burmese and Thai governments, the Tourism Ministry said. Prior to the agreement, visitors were only allowed to travel to Burma by air. One-day visits were possible at three gates, while foreigners could also gain permission to travel for one week in Burma’s Shan State, if they stayed in the vicinity of Tachileik.

Hla Maung Shwe, a presidential advisor at the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center, said the decision was made possible by the progress in Burma’s peace process.

“This opening of the border crossings is the fruit of the peace process that we are working on in our country,†he told The Irrawaddy. “Those who enter the country through these gates, they can go out again at any other gate. There are no restrictions,†he said, adding that the move would help boost tourist visits to areas that were hard to reach before and support local livelihoods in ethnic regions.

More than a dozen armed ethnic groups have been fighting decades-long rebellions against Burma’s central government in the mountainous, forested border regions, in order to gain political autonomy and respect for basic human rights.

President Thein Sein’s nominally-civilian, reformist government has reached ceasefire agreements with most groups in the past year and peace talks are ongoing.

Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan groups in ethnic areas along Burma’s eastern border with Thailand were left impoverished by conflict and isolation. Some ethnic leaders and businesses there said they hoped their region would now benefit economically from an increase in overland tourist and business travelers.

New Mon State Party executive committee member Nai Tala Nyi said the opening of the Myawaddy-Mae Sot crossing to international visitors could boost tourist business in the Mon State capital Moulmein, which is located on one the main roads leading to Rangoon from the border gate.

“It is good for all people that they can travel from the border to here [Moulmein]. I hope it will have good impact for the local people,†he said.

“I feel our Mon people will get similar benefits to the Thai people, who gain good income from tourism industry, if more visitors come to our Mon State,†said Kaung Sein, managing director at Mon Thanakorn Company.

The relaxing of overland travel restrictions would also help the growing number of Thai firms coming to Burma, according to Kaung Sein, whose Moulmein-based firm assists Thai businesses looking to invest in the Daiwei deep-sea port and industrial zone in Mon State.

“As the border opens, there will be more foreign investment,†he said, Then, our migrants workers who are in Thailand, they can come back to work in their own land.â€

Source: Irrawaddy.org

[Bounngou]

mae sai to china overland?

ranong to bangladesh overland?

crossing anywherefrom thai then to india overland?

only embassy in thailand for myanmar visa is on sathorn in bkk? gonna be busy. still only 1 month?

i need an adventure am stuck in a rut but last trip to myanmar over a decade ago wasnt a pleasant experience. left after only 8 days in rangoon only.

still got FECs? no atms? no internet? comparatively markedly overprice accommodation?

Edited August 29, 2013 by Bounngou

[Tomtomtom69]

mae sai to china overland?

ranong to bangladesh overland?

crossing anywherefrom thai then to india overland?

only embassy in thailand for myanmar visa is on sathorn in bkk? gonna be busy. still only 1 month?

i need an adventure am stuck in a rut but last trip to myanmar over a decade ago wasnt a pleasant experience. left after only 8 days in rangoon only.

still got FECs? no atms? no internet? comparatively markedly overprice accommodation?

A little bit of a rambling post, but let me respond to your questions/points you raised.

Mae Sai to China overland? Currently it is possible to reach the Chinese border towns of Mongla or Mu-se without a permit from any of the new legal international checkpoints or most other major roads in Myanmar. Crossing into China (only at Jiegao/Mu-se) is possible with a permit from the Myanmar Ministry of Travel and Tourism (MTT), although in time, perhaps next year, this border should also open without a permit. Of course it's the Burmese who impose this permit requirement; the Chinese would be happy to let both their citizens and foreigners pass, provided the latter have valid visas in their passports. Another border crossing at Daluo, which is currently only for day trips for Chinese who enter there should also be upgraded to international status eventually, thus providing the fastest and shortest road access between Thailand and China, once it opens.

Overland to India requires a permit to cross the border, but apparently reaching the Indian border on the Burmese side is allowed without a permit nowadays. Again, give it a year or two and then that overland access will open up too.

Bangladesh/Myanmar - give it a while longer, but right now I see little need to worry about this. Bangladesh only shares a short border with Myanmar and is rarely part of an average traveler's itinerary - if you can cross either to China or India, then overland travel from Myanmar to Europe would be possible without first backtracking into Thailand and then Laos and China, Russia etc. before reaching Europe.

Tourist visas are 28 days but business visas are 70 days. Both are single entry - however, there is a possibility of obtaining a multiple entry business visa after first securing a couple of single entry ones. Some online travel agencies claim to be able to process a 2-week tourist visa extension but otherwise I expect a more formal process to be implemented soon, perhaps around next year. I expect a Myanmar consulate to eventually open in Mae Sot and perhaps even Chiang Mai, but since VOA may become available at the newly opened crossings by early next year there wouldn't be as much of a need to visit a Myanmar embassy or consulate as there is now.

There are plenty of ATMs in Myanmar now, dispensing up to 300,000 Kyat plus a 5,000 Kyat user fee each time. This is equivalent to around US$350. Although ATMs have only been in existence in Myanmar since late last year, they can definitely be taken for granted, at least in the larger towns and cities. FECs are gone and the days of bringing in only crisp dollars are slowly coming to an end - Euros and Singapore Dollars can be exchanged in banks and at moneychangers and most places will accept Kyat at the prevailing exchange rate rather than force tourists to spend USD directly as used to be the case.

Accommodation is in short supply given the sudden demand and thus somewhat overpriced, particularly in Yangon and Mandalay, but elsewhere there are some relatively well priced places to be found.

[Bounngou]

thanks for that additional info, but i think you probably know the answer already, nope no going.

[Tomtomtom69]

thanks for that additional info, but i think you probably know the answer already, nope no going.

Decide for yourself, no one is forcing you to go, but I'd say now is a better time than any in the past to go to Myanmar, particularly with overland access now allowed without complicated or expensive permits.