Two million job opportunities seen in tourism by 2020

26 December 2015
Two million job opportunities seen in tourism by 2020
Foreign tourists flock the compound of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, 06 November 2015. Photo: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

As the travel and tour industry develops in Myanmar there’s the prospect of rapid job growth in the near future.
The Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF) is drafting a master plan to create 2 million job opportunities by 2020.
According to MTF statistics, the industry now has about 1 million people employed in tourism in direct and indirect businesses.
An important issue is the scarcity of skilled workers in the country, MTF officials said.
An estimated 4.5 million tourist will visit Myanmar in 2015, and the industry has a target of 7 million tourists by 2020.
Radiant Tour Co. Ltd. Administrative Director Naung Naung Han told Mizzima, “We need to train our human resources. We have many things to be done in preparation or we will not get the required number of skilled workers.”
If the number cannot be met, he said, qualified workers from other countries will get the jobs.
The ASEAN Economic Community will become a factor in 2016, creating more opportunities and challenges for the industry.
MTF Chairman Thet Lwin Toe said tour operators, hotels, restaurants, souvenir and gift shops, and transportation companies are expected to show rapid growth.
“The performance and skill of the people in the industry are important,” he said. “We need to do capacity building continuously to make them professional.”
Officials said income and profit from the sector are still very low when compared to other regional countries.