Myanmar’s aviation market sees slow growth in 2018

27 February 2019
Myanmar’s aviation market sees slow growth in 2018
Photo: Yangon International Airport

Myanmar’s aviation market has grown rapidly over the past decade, tripling in size. However, 2018 marked by far the slowest rate of growth this decade, the Centre for Aviation reported.

International passenger traffic grew by only 2% as visitor numbers to Myanmar increased by less than 3%. Tourism is critical to Myanmar as inbound visitors account for most international traffic and a large portion of domestic traffic, which declined by 5% in 2018. 

A bright spot has been the Myanmar-China market, which grew rapidly in 2018 boosted by a 40% increase in Chinese visitor numbers. Even faster growth from China is expected in 2019 due to a new more liberal visa policy introduced in late 2018 that has already led to several airlines entering the Myanmar-China market.