The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism will open a new border gate at Kayah state, U Htay Aung, minister for hotels and tourism, said.
The new border gate, the first one in Kayah state, will be located between Mae Se in Loikaw, Myanmar, and Mae Haungsaung in Thailand.
“The new border gate will improve tourism and trade between the two countries. It will be more convenient for tourists to visit Myanmar not only from Thailand but also from other countries,” the minister said.
He said the immigration and foreign affairs departments of both the countries are now trying to finalise the agreement to open the gate.
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is set to open an office in Kayah state along with information centres for travellers.
Kayah state is intended to be developed as a tourism destination in the newly-adopted National Export Strategy.
Tourists now can travel via four border gates – Tachileik, Myawaddy, Mawtaung and Htekhee – between Myanmar and Thailand.
According to statistics of Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, over 960,000 tourists came to Myanmar through the border gates between January and May this year. However, ministry numbers doesn’t differentiate between actual tourists and traders and local populace who frequently travel between the two countries through the border gates. A total of 1,580 tourists visited Kayah state during the same period, half the number of tourists in the whole last year.
