US businessmen to invest in Myanmar hotel sector

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism announced that American businessmen have offered to invest in the hotel sector as privately owned enterprises or joint ventures with Myanmar partners.
The announcement was made after Senator Jim Webb, Christopher Kingsley from Brownstone Furniture and special delegates met with U Htay Aung, Minister of Hotels and Tourism.
The Americans have expressed interest to invest in Yangon, Pyin Oo Lwin and Bagan, to accommodate the growing number of visitors to Myanmar.
The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism office welcomed the interest to invest and explained the current situation in investment sectors.
There has been an unprecedented surge of foreign visitors to Myanmar since 2011. The number of visitors in 2012 skyrocketed to a record high of one million people. The demand for accommodation has hit the roof. However, Myanmar does not have the infrastructure to accommodate all the visitors yet. The issue has been widely covered in the international media. It has been reported that catering to the demands of all the visitors will not be possible for the next five years.
Hotels in Myanmar have also been criticized by local travel and tourism enterprises for its low standards and expensive rates, in comparison with other Asian countries.
Yangon, with 210 Hotels and a total of 9163 rooms, is facing an acute shortage of rooms. The Minster of Hotels and Tourism said that over 1000 of hotel rooms added by end of the year.