The Politics of Tourism in Myanmar
Joan C. Henderson
Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
The relationship between politics and tourism is complex and multi-faceted, and a subject which is assuming a higher priority in the researchliterature.This articleexamines thepolitics oftourisminMyanmar where tourismhas been shapedby internaland external political forces while also becoming a highly visible and contested political issue.The politicalbackground and its effect on Myanmar’s tourism are explainedand the standpoints of the principal groups involved are discussed, with particular attentiongiven tothat ofthe government and its policies.Referenceis alsomade to demands for a boycott and the ensuing debate about its value. The various parties are seen to interpret and make use of tourism as a political tool in contrasting ways which reflect their own interestsand agendas. Finally, some general conclusions arepresentedabout the linkages connecting the central concepts under review and the need to considertourism within the framework of prevailing national and international political systems in order to fully appreciate its significance.
Introduction This article explores aspects of the inter-connectedness of politics and tourism, based on the case of Myanmar where tourism acquired a heightened political significance in the closing decades of the 20th century. Myanmar is a particularly appropriate laboratory in which to study the politicisation of tourism because of the nature of the regime and the range in forms of political appropriation of its tourism, discussion of which affords wider insights into the dynamics of the linkages between the two concepts under review in theory and practice. A reassessment of the politics of tourism in Myanmar is also timely given signs of a shift in thepoliticallandscape and news oftalks between the military rulers and opposition which have implications for its future prospects as a destination.