Myanmar's immigration authorities will formally introduce online electronic (e)-visa for all foreign tourists starting Sept 1 in a bid to boost tourist arrivals in the country, the Ministry of Immigration and Population said on its website Wednesday.
The system will ensure that all tourists destined to Myanmar get e-visa within five days.
Earlier in June, Myanmar Business Today reported that the Department of Immigration and Population (DIP) under the Immigration Ministry by this year will implement an E-Visa system quoting a top official said.
E-visa application started on Aungust 10 on a trial basis for a limited number of applications, said the website, inviting user feedback during the trial period.
According to hotels and tourism authorities, the number of tourist arrivals already attained 1.2 million in the first five months of 2014, with 3 million being expected by the year-end.
To meet the growing number of foreign tourist arrivals, the government has been encouraging foreign investments into the hotel and tourism sector.
The latest official statistics show that there are over 900 hotels, motels and inns of five grades in Myanmar providing about 38,700 rooms.
Of the hotels, 26 are foreign-invested, based mainly in Yangon and Mandalay.
Since the current quasi-civilian government took office in 2011, tourist arrivals in Myanmar shot up to 1.06 million in 2012 and 2.04 million in 2013.
Among the foreign visitors, those from Asia account for about 70 percent; while rest are from Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East, figures show.
