Tuesday, 29 June 2010 18:48 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burmese authorities are allowing hoteliers to import “tourist sightseeing vehicles”, holding a lottery among proprietors for permits to import a total of 200 cars for the purpose, a hoteliers’ association spokesman said yesterday.
Burma’s auto sector is tightly controlled by the ruling junta, with a quota of only a few thousand cars to be imported each year, high import tariffs and high permit fees.
The objective in allowing the import of the sightseeing vehicles was to revive tourism sector in Burma, Dr. Nay Zin Latt of the Burma Hoteliers’ Association Central chapter said yesterday, adding that current model 15- and seven-seat vehicles would be imported from Japan.
More than 600 hoteliers from Ngapali, Ngwesaung and Chaungtha beaches; Rangoon, Mandalay, Sagaing, Pagan, and Taunggyi and Inle in Shan State, participated in the lottery, he said.
“The quota is for the import of 10 cars per 33 hotels. Each 33 hotels had to draw lots to obtain the permits”, Dr. Nay Zin Latt told Mizzima.
One of the junta’s revenue-generating conglomerates, the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEH), tendered for hoteliers to import vehicles for the tourism sector, allowing the lot winners to import cars two months later.
The hoteliers must conduct transactions in US dollars, but the exact prices of the cars were unknown before negotiations between the hoteliers and the UMEH.
A total of 160 hoteliers from Rangoon drew lots for permits on June 24, but the winners were unknown until now, Dr. Nay Zin Latt said.
Invitation cards to the negotiating meeting from Burma Hoteliers’ Association Central chapter said only hoteliers who had already paid hotel licence and membership fees to the association or the Rangoon chapter had the right to participate in the lottery.
Although the invitations said winning hoteliers had to deposit five million Kyats (about US$5,000) to the central chapter by June 30, the payment plan was later changed to enable hoteliers to deposit funds just before receiving the cars, he said.
Permit holders must also pay two million Kyats to the central chapter’s fund, three million Kyats for the permit to import a seven-seat car and two million Kyats for the permit to import a 15-seat car to the Rangoon chapter as association funds, according to the invitation card.
A hotelier who attended the meeting told Mizzima that he refused to participate in the lottery because of all the extra fees demanded by the hoteliers’ association.
According to the Myanmar Times journal, the number of individual visitors between May and September last year rose almost 60 per cent year on year from 19,944 in 2008 to 34,168.
The number of visitors between January and May this year was 121,522, according to a report from the Burmese Tourism Promotion Board. Most of the visitors were from Thailand; 24,401 between January and May 5. Next in number were from China, with 12,851 visitors. Other visitors included those from the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Last August, private football clubs were allowed to import cars worth US$70,000 by the Burmese Football Federation. There are 11 such clubs, all of which are owned by prominent tycoons, typically with close ties to the junta.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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