International hotel chains open their doors in Myanmar

Yangon – Since opening up the country, more tourists come and discover Myanmar and it is expected to grow even more. Therefore, more and more investors are seeing chances to begin their business here. That is why a lot of new hotels will open their doors as well in 2017.

Since the new government, led by National League for Democracy Party took over, 144 hotels have received their license. The tourism sector has been growing. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Myanmar’s tourism sector created 1.43 million jobs in 2015, with an expected growth of 1.3 percent in 2016.

Mainly in Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon, there will be a great increase in the number of hotels. In September, the Korea’s largest hotel chain Lotte hotels will open the doors of their first branch in Myanmar next to Inya Lake in Yangon. The hotel will have 343 Guest Rooms and 315 Serviced Apartments.

Another hotel chain opening its doors in 2017 is GCP Hospitality. They will open a Hotel G in Yangon. It is going to be a vibrant lifestyle hotel centrally located in Yangon. The concept has already been a success in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore and is now coming to Yangon. GCP Hospitality is also the owner of the famous Strand Hotel in downtown Yangon.

One of Asia’s largest hotel and property companies, Pan Pacific Hotels Group from Singapore, will also start operating in Yangon. They will open their first Myanmar branch this year. It will be located next to the Bogyoke Aung San Market with a view over the Shwedagon Pagoda. Pan Pacific is awarded for their efforts in social responsibility.

Yangon Excelsior Hotel, a five star hotel renovation project of a heritage building in the hub of vibrant downtown Yangon is planning to open before the end of 2017 with 74 rooms. The 4 stories building used to be the trading head quarter of Steels Brothers in the British time and later become the government’s Trade Corporation building. The interior design of the hotel will be telling the story of Yangon in the golden old days.

About the growing demand for hotels in Myanmar Su Su Tin, Vice Chairman at Myanmar Tourism Marketing said: ‘There has been a surge in hotel investments by international brands in Myanmar since 2015 as the country holds the most potential tourist destination untapped in the region. We welcome quality hotel investments across the country to provide international standard accommodation and service. We also welcome healthy competitions in hotel industry to avoid over pricing due to shortage of hotel supply like in 2013-14. Although the growth rate has slowed down compared to the previous hype, Myanmar tourism industry has a very bright future prospect and hospitality infrastructure has to be ready for potential growth.’

The French AccorHotels Group is probably the hotel chain with the most confidence in the Myanmar tourism market. They are planning to open five new properties by 2019. Later this year, they will open a Pullman Hotel in Mandalay at the new Mingalar Mandalay complex, within easy driving distance to Mahamuni Pagoda and U Pain Bridge. Another branch of the Pullman hotels is expected to open in Yangon in 2019.

Next to that, AccorHotels is also planning to open two new hotels in Shan State. This year, they will open a new branch of their MGallery chain at Inle Lake, one of Myanmar’s main tourist destinations. And next year, they plan to open an Ibis Styles hotel in Muse, a major trade point near the Chinese border.

Furthermore, AccorHotels recently signed a contract with SC Capital Partners Group to rebrand the Micasa Hotel Apartments Yangon as Mercure Yangon Kaba Aye. It is located near the Shwedagon Pagoda. The new Mercure will have 143 apartments and 40 deluxe rooms. The Mercure will open in 2017.

Because of the opening of new hotels, even more people can come and discover Myanmar. It also shows a lot of confidence in Myanmar’s tourism market, which is expected to keep growing over the coming years.

Source: http://www.traveldailynews.asia/news/article/64884/international-hotel-chains-open-their