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THE INBOUND TOURISM DESTINATION STRATEGY: A CASE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF MYANMAR, BAGAN ย ไท ้า รค า ก หอ C ัย C ล UT ยา y d ิทMISS THIN YU YU bHLAING ve ว @ er า ht s ห g re ม ri ธิ์ y ts ิท op gh ส C r i ิข ll ล A A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Business Administration Department of International Business Graduate School University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce 2008

THE INBOUND TOURISM DESTINATION STRATEGY: A CASE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF MYANMAR, BAGAN ย ไท ้า รค า ก ห อ C ัย C ล UT ยMISSา THIN YU YUy HLAING d ิท b ve ว @ er า ht s ห g re ม ri ธิ์ y ts ิท op g h ส C ri ิข A Thesis Submitted in lPartiall Fulfillment of the Requirements ล For the Degree Aof Master of Business Administration Department of International Business Graduate School University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce 2008

THESIS APPROVAL GRADUATE SCHOOL

Master of Business Administration Degree ย International Business ท Major Field ไ ้า Title The Inbound Tourist Destination Strategy: คA Case Study of The Ancient City of Myanmar, Bagan. าร ก Thin Yu Yu Hlaing อ 2008 Name ห C Graduation Year ัย C Accepted by Graduate School,ล the University of the TThai Chamber of Commerce in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsา for the Master’s U Degree d ย y e ิท b v ว ...... Dean, Graduate Schoolr า (Dr. Ekachai Apisakkul)t@ e h s Thesis Committeeห g re ม ri ิ์ ...... y ...... t s Chairman ธ p(Dr. Pussadee Polsaram)h ิท o ig ส C r ิข ...... l ...... Thesis Advisor (Dr. Thasanal Boonkwan) ล A

...... Member (Dr.Piraphong Foosiri)

...... External Committee (Assoc. Prof. Sriaroon Resanond) iii

Thesis Title The Inbound Tourist Destination Strategy: A Case Study of The Ancient City of Myanmar, Bagan. ย Name Miss Thin Yu Yu Hlaing ไท Degree Master of Business Administration ้า Major Field International Business ค Thesis Advisor Dr. Thasana Boonkwan าร Graduation Year 2008 ก อ ABSTRACTห CC ัย T Tourism is becoming aา majorล ingredient of many U economies. As a dmajor foreign currency earner, tourismิท is ยbeing included in developmentby agenda by severalve governments. Destinations with greatว attractions are bein@g gateway to socio-economicer development of rural areas. Effortsา are being made to preservet the attractions sand market the destinations ห h re appropriatelyิ์ ม to global tourismr industry.ig Countries are constantly bringing about regulatory changes and sustainable tourismy development frameworksts to increase the visibility of local ิทธ p h ส destinations intoC theo global tourism market.rig By nature of tourism industry, destinations ิข compete more than tourism companiesll do. Attractiveness, competitiveness, other ล supporting facilities, experienceA environment and human resource involved at the destination are attributes that are of key importance while making decision to visit a particular destination.

Recently, security and environmental protection initiatives are also gaining importance in making choice of destination of visit. Myanmar hosts manyท ยattractions for potential exploitation. Several destinations are being developed ้าbut ไvolume of tourism is comparatively low as compared to tourism destinationsค in neighboring countries. Assessment of satisfaction among the tourist is a crucialา รway to continuously improve the inflow of tourism revenue. Destination attributesอ shouldก be molded towards market needs. So, interaction with tourist and capturing expectatiห ons and experiencesCC provides basis for destination management. ัย T าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

ย ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ท ้าไ There are several people I would like to thank for theirรค support and encouragement throughout this research paper. First of all, I would กlike าto express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to Dr. Thasana Boonkwan Chอairman of the ExaminationC Committee, for his valuable guidance and constant supervisionห throughoutC my entire thesis. His enthusiasm and prompt feedback not ัยonly impressed me muchT but also gave me a lot of าล U encouragement and confidenceย while doing this thesisy study. ed I would also likeิท to express my profoundb gratitude to my examinationrv committee members, Associateว Prof. Sriaroon Resanond,@ Dr. Phusit Wonglorsaichon,e Dr. Piraphong า ht es Foosiri มandห Dr. Pussadee Polsaromig for their valuable r suggestions, encouragement throughoutิ์ the whole period ofr my research work. s ธ py ht สิท My innumerableo thanks extendedr toig my parents. Because of their encouragement ิข and sacrifice, I Cwas able to have thisll study opportunity. This thesis study is fondly and ล gratefully dedicated to my belovedA parents for the many sacrifices they have made for me to become educated and bring me up to this stage of my career. I am also indebted to Mrs. Khin Than Win, Assistant General Manager of Myanmar Hotels and Tourism Service, Ministry of Hotel and Tourism, Mr. Zay Yar Myo Aung, General Manager of Myanmar Travel and Tourism in Bagan, This research could not have

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been completed without their cooperation, assistance and information ทkindlyย provided by them. Also thanks to the visitors who give help by answering the้า ไquestions during their traveling which support this research achieving the objectives.รค I would also like to personally present my sincere thanks and gratitudeา to Mr. Ramesh Marikhu, for his constant encouragement, support and lead me thisก stage of life. I would also like to thank อ C to my best friend, Hari Kafley (SOM, หAsian Institute of Technology)C for his trust, understanding, generous contribution andัย supports. T าล U I also express my wholeheartedย thankfulnessy to all my brothers, sistersed and friends who have been patientิท with me, especially Mibss Hnin Thida, for helpingrv me conducting Survey and also in vaวrious ways and for encour@aging me to keep on.e า ht es Lastห but not last, I would likeg to say thank to Ms. Luckanar Kettrikul (Yin) coordinator ิ์ ม ri s ofธ International Programp andy all faculties ath thet Graduate office for their invaluable ิทknowledge and wisdomo imparted to me andi gall the staff. ิขส C l r ล Al

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ย LIST OF TABLES ท ้าไ Table รค Page 4.1 Number of tourist arrivals in Bagan and correspondingกา revenue from tourism………………………………….……………………………………..…………..72อ C 4.2. Visitor demographics and trip characteristics………………………………..…….…76ห ัย TC 4.3 Tourist attractions andา touristsล interest rating……… U……………………..……...... 81d 4.4 Travel facilitiesิท andย tourist satisfaction brating……………………………..………….84y ve 4.5 Tourist satisfactionว rating on facilitie@s and services of hoteel andr restaurants…….87 4.6 Tourismา information and Touristt satisfaction rating………………………………….90s ห gh re 4.7ิ์ ม Facilities of Communicationri in Bagan and tourists satisfaction rating………….…..92 ธ 4.8 Other facilities andy tourist satisfaction rating……………………………………….…94t ิท op gh ส 4.9 SWOT analysis of Bagan……………………………………ri …………………………..95 ิข C ll ล 4.10 Interview with the governmentA official if MHT and two private Stakeholders for the development of tourism in Bagan………………….………….98 ix

ย LIST OF FIGURES ท ้าไ Figure รค Page 2.1 Some monuments in Bagan…………………………………………………………….…42กา 3.1 Research Flow……………………………………………………………………….……...60อ C 3.2 Conceptual Framework of the Study…ห..…………………………………….……………61 ัย TC 3.3 Number of Tourist arrivalsา inล Bagan and corresponding U revenue from Tourism……62d 4.1 Tourism receipts fromย Bagan…………………………………………………..…………..72by e 4.2 Tourist Arrivals byิท Region (Source: Key format interviews)…..………………….…….74rv าว t@ e 4.3Touristห Arrivals by Region (Source:h Online Survey frome Bagan)…..…………….…….77s 4.4 Tourist Arrivals by Genderi gGroup……………………… r…………………………..……..78 ิ์ ม yr ts ธ4.5 Tourism Informatipon………………………………………………………………..………..79h ิท o ig ิขส 5.1 Model forC Attractiveness and Coml petitivenessr Building of Bagan…………………..105 ล Al x

ย LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ท ้าไ ADB = Asian Development Banks ค ASEAN = Association of South East Asian าNationsร ATM = Automatic Transfer Moneyอ Machineก CNPA = Cairngorms Nationalห Park Authority CC DHT = Directorate ofล Hotelsัย and Tourism T FECs = Foreign Exchangeา Certificates U d FIT = Foreignย Independent Tourist y e ิท b rv GDP =า ว Gross Domestic Productt@ se ICOMOS ห= International Counh cil on Monumentsr ande Sites ITs = Informationig Technologies ิ์ ม yr ts ิทLDCsธ = Leastp Developed Countriesh MHT = o Ministry of Hotels andig Tourism ส C l r ลิข MHTS = Myanmar Hotelsl and Tourism Services MPT = MyanmarA Postal and Telecommunication MPTB = Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board MTT = Myanmar Travels and Tours

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QW = Questionnaire Web-link ทย (http://www.cs.ait.ac.th/~b105624/nge) ้าไ SARS = Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromeร ค UNEP = United Nations Environment Programmeา WTO = World Tourism Organizationอ ก WTTC = World Travel and Tourismห Council C ัย TC าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

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ย TABLE OF CONTENTS ไท ้า ค ร Page ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………..…..iiiา อก ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………ห …..………………….………………………...viCC LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………....………………………viiiัย T าล U d LIST OF FIGURES………………ย ………………………………………………..…….……………ixy e ิท b rv LIST OF ABBREVIATION……าว ……………………………………………..……..…….…………...xt@ se ห gh re Chapterม ri ธิ์ y ts ิท 1. Introduction op gh ส 1.1 Rationale………………………………………………………………………………….1C ri ิข 1.2 Statement of the problem………………………………………………………………4ll ล 1.3 Objective of the Study……………………………………………………………….….5 1.4 Scope of the Study……………………………………………………………………...6A 1.5 Operational Definitions………………………………………………..…..…………….6 1.6 Expected Benefits……………………………………………………………………….7 1.7 Organization of this Study………………………………………….…………………..8 2. Literature Review 2.1 Tourism………………………………………………………………………………….10 xiii

ย TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)ไ ท ้า Page 2.2 Strategy….…………………………………………………………….……..…………16ค 2.3 Destination………………………………………………………………………...... 18ร 2.4 Tourism Development in Myanmar……….…………………………………………26า 2.5 Tourism Development in Bagan……………………………………………………..33ก 2.6 Past Researches………………………………………………………………………46อ C 2.7 Conclusion………………………………ห ……………………………………………...54C 3 Methodology………………………ัย………………………………………………………...58T 3.1 Research Framework………………………………………………………………….58ล U 3.2 Questionnaire Designา………………………………………………………………....64 d ย y e 3.3 Data Analysis……………………………ิท b…...………………………………………...66v 3.4 Data Instrumentatioว n…………………………………………………………………..69r 4 Finding andา Discussion…………..………………………………………...……………...70t@ se 4.1 Dataห Reliability…………………………………………….…….………….h e ...... 70 r ม4.2 Tourism informationri ofg Bagan……………………………….. ……………………..71 ิ์ 4.3 Traveler demographicy and trip characteristics………………..…………………..75ts ธ 4.4 Survey of touristsp interest rating for hattraction in Bagan…………..………….....79 ิท 4.5 Tourists osatisfaction rating for facilitiesig in Bagan…………………………………82 ส 4.6 SWOTC Analysis of Bagan……………………………………..……….…………….95 r ิข 4.7 Interview with the governmell nt official of Myanmar’s Hotel & Tourism And Two ล Private stakeholders Aof tourism industry…………………………………………….97 5 Conclusion, Recommendations and limitations………….……………..……………..102 5.1 Conclusion…………………….…………………………………..…………………..102 5.2 Recommendations………………………………………………...………………….106 5.3 Limitation of the Study……………………………………………………………….117 5.4 Direction for the future of research…………………………..…………………….118 xiv

ย TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)ไ ท ้า Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….……………....119ค Appendix A: Questionnaire………………………………………………………………131ร Appendix B: Overview of Bagan……………………………..…………………………136า Biography…………………………………………………………………….………………...141ก หอ C C ลัย T า U d ย y e ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 1

ย CHAPTER 1 ท ้าไ INTRODUCTION ค าร 1.1 Rationale อก Tourism is becoming more visible หin world economy. ManyC Ccountries are orienting their economy towards tourism ลsector.ัย Tourism is becomingT the backbone of many countries’ economy. In many countriesา tourism has become U the major sourced of income generation, employment creationย and source of nationaly wealth. Governmentse are framing ิท b rv policies to safeguardาว natural environmentt an@d cultural heritage tos fostere tourism. Isolation and pride helped sustainh Myanmar’s myriad with a busting modern city, มห ig re emergingิ์ beach destinationsy rand more temples tands peoples is naturally a draw card governmentธ stopped forcinpg foreigners to changhe US$ 200, 00 into government note upon ิท o ig ิขส arrival; the majorityC (possibly over 80%)l rof a careful independent traveler’s expense goes ล into the private sector. Like anyA otherl economic sectors, tourism needs adequate attention and strategic planning to grow as an industry. There are certain aspects of this industry that needs proper attention. This include: (1) increasing attraction (2) promotion (3) tourism infrastructure (4) services and (5) hospitality. Also there are other aspects including tourism entrepreneurs and their role in fostering these components. While the above components 2

and a community’s assets are clearly important to tourism development, only the widespread participation and contribution of rural tourism entrepreneursท ยcan ensure a broad-based foundation for successful tourism development. As้า ไis recognized in the tourism literature, successful tourism involves getting tourists toค stay longer than the time it takes simply to visit a major attraction and having them าvisitร more than once. Giving brilliant experience during every stay building attractiveอ กdestination are the keys to retain the tourists and make them visit more than once.ห CC Myanmar ัย , known as the goldenล land is not only due toT presence of golden pagodas but also for her fertile land and าthe wealth of its agriculture,U natural resources and precious ย y ed minerals and stones. Myanmar has untainted naturalb environment, host of natural beauty วิท rv including waterfalls,า magnificent lakes,t @enchanting cages ands enatural sandy beaches. Myanmar is also haven for unique cultureh of different ethnic groups. This cultural heritage ห ig re makes มMyanmar one of the mostr unique places in the world. People are hospitable and ธิ์ y ts ิทalways welcome tourist.op The famous thousgandh years old glittering golden pagodas are ส cherished sight to all visitors. Myanmar isr alsoi home of large variety flora and fauna. There ิข C ll ล are plenty of resorts to rest andA make excursion. Traditionally, Myanmar is known as a cultural destination because of its numerous historical monuments, Buddhist temples and pagodas. There are other attractions for visitors who are specialized in Archaeology, Buddhism, Entomology, Birds, Plants, etc. Some adventurous tourists visit Myanmar for trekking, scuba diving, cross-country cycling, car rally and hot-air balloon flying. 3

Furthermore, Myanmar is the only country in Southeast Asia with snow-capped mountains. There is also ample scope for development of eco-tourism.ท Eco-tourismย has become the buzz word in tourism industry recently. In Myanmar,้า thไere are some of the tourist attractions of ancient cities like Mrauk-U, Bagan, and คInnwa. Among them, Bagan, which is known as the city of four million pagodas, is oneา ofร the richest archaeological sites in South East Asia and the main tourist destinationอก in Myanmar. In Asia, Bagan stands comparably only to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.ห The whole space ofC BaganC is thickly studded with pagodas of all sizes and shapes.ลัย At one time, there wereT 13,000 temples, pagodas and religious structures. Today,า the ruins of Bagan CityU cover an area ofd 42 sq. km containing over 2000 well-preservedย temples and pagodasy of 11th to 13th Century.e A visit to ิท b rv Myanmar is incompleteาว without a visit to tBagan.@ se Tourismห has become ag growingh sector in nationalre economy following the liberalization of policies underi the market-oriented economy. Tourism industry was ิ์ ม yr ts ิทestablishedธ in 1992 withp the formation of theh Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. It is responsible for policyo formulation and implementig ation of action plans. The main directing ิขส C l r ล staff under the Ministry is theA Directoratl e of Hotels and Tourism (DHT) whose main functions are planning, promotion, marketing and research, investment in tourism, facilitation and regulation of private sector. Myanmar Hotels and Tourism Services (MHTS) is the commercial enterprise which manages state-owned hotels, tour operations (Myanmar Travel & Tours), Duty Free Shops and local beverage businesses. On the national level, 4

the Tourism Development Management Committee (DMC) has been formed and there are 12-Sub committees for various tasks. This high-level Committee reflectsท theย Government's commitment to the development of tourism as a potential economic้า sector.ไ 1.2 Statement of the problem รค Despite the fact that there is attraction includingา natural environment, man-made ก and tailor-made tourist attractions but tourist turnoverอ has been quiteC low as compared to the neighboring East Asian nations includingห Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Exploitation ัย TC of all the potential destinations availableาล has been lesser. U There has been lotย of mismatch between ythe available potential eandd the level at which it has been tapped.ิท There are many touristb attractions with naturalv beauty and rich ว @ er heritage, but thereา is lack of proper hdestinationt development ands management. If we see recent trends,ห there are some improvementsg starting fromre recent year because of the ิ์ ม ri s Tourismธ Development strategypy adopted by theh government.t Nevertheless, there are still ิทmany constraints to accelerate the pace of Tourism Development in Myanmar with proper ส Co rig ิข destination development and marketlingl of destinations. It is therefore essential to address ล these issues for sound developmentA of Tourism Industry, successful operation and for the long-term sustainability of tourism destination. For proper development of tourism industry, it is essential to develop and manage destinations adequately. 5

The results of the exploratory study of this thesis are expected to contribute to the effective ways which will help guide for design and implementation ofท futureย sustainable Tourism destination development and management by analyzing้าไ the barriers and tribulations which are faced in tourism industry and by tourismค entrepreneurs right now. There is a need to come up with adequate strategies inา ordeรr that the untapped potential is explored and materialized following state อof theก art destination development and management strategies. ห CC Bagan ัย is one of the Asia’sล most amazing and richestT archaeological sites in South East Asia. The ancient templesา of Bagan stand today Uas they have been standing for a ย y ed thousand years. Bagan was capital of first Myanmarb Empire and also Myanmar’s Capital for วิท rv 230 years. Thisา makes significant numbert@ of domestic visitosrs, eforeign travelers to visit there. ห h e ิ์ ม rig r 1.3 Objective of The studyy ts ิทธ p h ส The objectives ofC theo thesis study are: rig ิข 1. To analyze international tourisllts’ interest and satisfaction of their travel experience ล with facilities, services Aregarding with Bagan, the main tourist destination in Myanmar.

2. To identify an effective approach of tourism development for Bagan, home of the richest archaeological sites in South East Asia. 6

3. To suggest ways how it can be better implemented in the future for increasing the international tourist arrivals. ย ไท 1. 4 Scope of the study ค้า The scope of this thesis study is to assess the currentร state of tourism business in Myanmar considering Bagan as tourist destination withา high potential. Also the study ก assesses the strategies followed by inbound tourismอ companies basedC in Bagan. This study is more focused towards finding out the หloopholes in the existing strategies adopted by ัย TC companies providing inbound toาurismล services. After assessi U ng the bottlenecks, the study aims at coming up with recommย endations for fosteringy inbound tourisme ind the country especially for Bagan. Theิท recommendations will bbe based on the best practicesv adopted by ว @ er other touristห destination.า ht es g r ิ์ ม ri s 1.5ธ Operational Definitionsy t ิท op gh ส Tourist/ visitor: Any non-Burmese visitingri Bagan for leisure during the month of the ิข C ll ล holiday 2008. A Destination: The ultimate and the main tourist attraction places in Bagan, such as the Bupaya, Pebinkyaung, Lawkananda, Shwesandaw, the Ngakywenadaung and Bagan Musiun etc. 7

Service attribute: The service attributes identified for the purpose of measuring satisfaction of the tourist visiting Bagan. The service attributes in this ทstudyย are identified based on Bagan et a. 2008, namely, services, guide services, food้า services,ไ and shopping services. รค Perceived Service: The tourists’ perception of the serviceกา lever received. Predicted Service: The level of service that touristsอ believe that theyC are likely to get i.e., the prediction of the performance levelห of services identified for the purpose of ัย TC measurement. าล U d Gap: The different betweenย the predicted serviceb yand the service performancee perceived by the tourists. ิท rv าว t@ e Tourists Satisfaction: It is the approvalh of tourists visiting Bagan,s measured by multiplying ห ig re the levelิ์ ม of significance of eachr service attribute withs the gap between the predicted service andธ the perceived service performance.y t ิท op gh ส ri ิข C ll ล 1.6 Expected benefits A The finding of the study will give useful insights to the tour operators to optimize their scarce resources in improving the weak attributes that may need their attention and capitalize on the attractive attributes as it is expected to give the competitive strength. 8

The finding will help to guide the policy makers to frame the appropriate policies that may enhance the tourist’s destination management so that it may encourage moreทย visits. The results will contribute to the academic research and provides ้าas ไa reference for further research in the field of strategies and tourists destination managementรค . 1.7 Organization of this study า ก This study will be organized in the following order.อ This is not exhaustCive but the study will revolve around the following sphere of organizationห ัย TC Chapter 1: Introduction – thisาล chapter deals with background,U rationale dof the study, problem statement, aimsย and objectives of the studyy and scope of the study.e Chapter 2: Literatureิท Review b v ว @ er This chapterหา deals mainly with theh literaturt e review in tourismes destination development, strategies for tourism destinationg management, and rcompetitive strategies in tourism ิ์ ม ri s ธdestination Managementpy including researchesh tdone in the past. Overview of tourism ิท Industry in Myanmar and Bagan mainly deals with current tourism in Myanmar, ส Co rig ิข overview of Bagan as tourist destlination,l current state in Bagan. ล Chapter 3: Methodology – Adeals with details of data collections, sampling, and other critical issues of research design and underlying assumptions. Chapter 4: Data analysis and Research Results Chapter 5: Conclusions, Recommendations and limitations 9

ย CHAPTER 2 ท ้าไ LITERATURE REVIEWร ค The understanding of the subject will contributeกา to achieve the objectives of the thesis successfully. In addition, this thesis is requiredอ the writer to understandC deeper in the theory in order to compile of his knowledgeห into practice. ัย TC Therefore, literature review าis aล key to break through U of those concepts whichd ultimately helps in examining differentย factors and recommendingy suitable alternatives.e Accordingly, it is very important to reviewิท literature before undertakingb a thesis work becausev on any issue ว @ er in any field หof studyา is well accomplishedht with basic understaends about the subject. Here an effort has been taken to portrayg many facets of destinationr management issues, while ิ์ ม ri s consideringธ tourism destinationspy as a whole andh thet tourism market. This chapter reviews ิทthe concepts and the major constructs of the study. The chapter comprises 5 sections, ส Co rig ิข which are - ll ล 1. Tourism A

2. Strategy

3. Destination,

4. Tourism Development in Myanmar, 10

5. Tourism Development in Bagan. ย 2.1 Tourism ไท There have been a lot of attempts to define tourism based้า on the components of the industry itself. It incorporates a range individuals, businessรค units, organization and places where people travel to. Some people considerกา tourism from demand side while others tend to defined tourism from supply side.อ As per World TourismC Organization tourism is defined as “the activities of persons travelingห to and staying places outside their usual ัย TC environment for not more than ลone consecutive yearU for leisure, business or other purposes.” า d ิทย by ve In 1941, Hunzikerว and Krapf defined@ tourism as “the sume ofr the phenomena and relationship หarisingา from the travel andh stayt of non-residents,e insofars as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not gconnected with any earningr activity.” ิ์ ม ri s ธ General tourism societiesy use, “the temporaryt short term movement of people to ิท op gh ส destinations outsideC places where they rnormallyi work and live and their activities during ิข their stay at these destinations” as definitionl of tourism. ล Al Economists consider tourism as an economic activity. This gives rise to an industry and provides business opportunities. This industry includes different sub-sectors including accommodations, destinations, etc. As a result governments recognize the importance of 11

tourism and considers as job creator and revenue generator. Local governments see tourism as economic regenerators and an important local employer. ทย ้าไ 2.1.1 Cultural Tourism ค าร For many nations around the world, culturalก tourism is not only a major industry but also a support for national identity and a meansหอ for preserving heritage.C Cultural tourism is also one of the fastest growing segmentsัย of the tourism industry,TC attracting visitors who tend to stay longer, spend more,า andล travel in the off-season. U d World Tourism Organizationย (WTO) providedby two definitions of culturalve tourism. The narrower definition includes:ิท “movements of persons for essentiallyr cultural motivations าว t@ e such as studyห tours, performing arts hand cultural tours, travele tos festivals and other cultural events, visits to sites and monuments,ig travel to study r nature, folklore or art, and ิ์ ม yr ts ิทpilgrimages.’ธ The widerp definition includes: ‘allh movements of persons, … because they ส satisfy the humanC needo for diversity, tendingrig to raise the cultural level of the individual and giving rise to new knowledge, experiencel and encounters’(Richards,1996). ลิข l Within Europe, the EuropeanA Commission and the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) definition of cultural tourism is still used: ‘The movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs’ (cultural definition) 12

and “All movements of persons to specific cultural attractions, such a heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations, arts and drama outside their normal placeท ยof residence” (technical definition) (Richards, 1996). ้าไ According to Stebbins (1996), “Cultural tourism is aร genreค of special interest tourism based on the search for and participation in new and าdeep cultural experiences, whether aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, or psychological”.ก It incorporates a variety of cultural อ C forms, including museums, galleries,ัย หfestivals, architecture,C historic sites, artistic performances, and heritage sites,ล as well as any experienTce that brings one culture in contact with another for the specificา purpose of that contact,U in a touring situation.” ย y ed Any form of tourismิท to another place thatb involves the visitor experiencingrv all of the “cultural” aspects วabout the place, its@ contemporary lifestyles,e food, topography, า ht s environment,มห towns and villages,ig just as much its historic r esites and cultural performance (ICOMOS,ิ์ 1999). r s ธ py ht ิท Visits by persons from outside the host community motivated wholly or in part by ส Co rig ิข interest in the historical artistic, scientificll or lifestyle/heritage offerings of a community, ล region, group or institution (Lord,A 2002) A modified version of Borley’s definition was that “Culture tourism is a segment of the industry when people are motivated wholly or in part to explore or experience the 13

different ways of life and/or ideas of other people, reflecting the social customs, religious traditions and cultural heritage which may be unfamiliar. ทย ไ ค้า 2.1.2 Importance of Tourism าร Tourism generates employment and incomeก for locals and is considered a medium for heritage and environmental preservation,อ creation of infrastructure,C cultural communication, and political stability (Andriotis,ห 2002). C ลัย T Tourism is vital for manyา countries, due toU the income generatedd by the consumption of goods andย services by tourists, they taxes levied on businessese in the ิท b rv tourism industry,า andว the opportunity tfor@ employment and seconomice advancement by working in theห industry. It also stimulatesh enormous investmentre in infrastructure, most of which also helps to improve thei livingg conditions of local people. In the world’s developing ิ์ ม yr ts countriesธ and particularlyp the Least Developed hCountries (LDCs), tourism has proven to be ิทa powerful tool in alleoviating poverty. Mosti gnew tourism jobs and business are created in ส C l r ลิข developing countries, helping to equalizel economic opportunities and keep rural residents from moving to overcrowded citiesA (WTO, 2004).

Tourism is one of the most important driving forces in the economies of nations. It has been recognized as a major growth engine for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation of most countries in the world (ADB, 2005).Tourism equals other 14

competing activities by creating added value, but is much less destructive and disruptive to the natural and human environment as long as it is development rationallyท andย respects the carrying capacity of sites (World Trade Organization /Ministerial Conference,้าไ 2003). In all developing countries, tourism has shown itselfร toค be a highly labour-intensive activity that opens up opportunities for the small businessesา that are engaged in or provide products and services to the tourism industry. Its กimpact is particularly strong in the local อ C farming and fishing industries, handicraftsัยห and even the constructionC industry. In these countries, tourism constitutes exceptionallyล fertile groundU Tfor private initiative and job creation. It serves as a footยholdา from which the markety economy can expandd and flourish (World Trade Organization /Ministerial Conference,b 2003). e วิท rv Tourism าis one of the most importantt@ economic activitiess ine the World. The revenue generated hasห become a very importanth resource and ae key factor in the balance of ม rig r paymentธิ์ for many countriesy and regions and hasts been a major contributor to their ิทeconomic growth (Hall etp al., 2004). h ส Co rig ิข ll ล 2.1.3 Tourist A

We usually think of a tourist as someone who's vacationing somewhere that's far from home. But the technical definition of a tourist is a little different. It counts anyone who travels to a place outside his or her usual environment and stays away for no more than a 15

year (British Columbia Statistic, 2001).A tourist may be simply defined as a person who visits another place other than his/her normal place of residence for a periodทย of more than 24 hours and less than one year (Pope 2006). ้าไ According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO),รค a tourist is a person who spends at least 24 hours outside his or her normal placeา of residence, in his or her own country or abroad, with the purpose other than a permanentก paid activity at the destination. อ C Leisure and business are the main motivesห for traveling. C There are clear differences betweenัย international andT domestic tourists. The term าล U “domestic tourist” describesย any person residing in ya country, who travels eto ad place within the country; outside his/herิท usual environment bfor a period not exceedingrv twelve months and whose main purposeว of visit is other@ than exercise of an activitye remunerated from า ht s within the placeห visited (WTO, 1993).g re ิ์ ม ri s ธ The term internationalpy tourist describes anyht person visiting a country other than that ิทin which he/she has his/her usual place of residence but outside his/her usual environment ส Co rig ิข for a period not exceeding twelve monthsll and whose main purpose of visit is other than the ล exercise of an activity remuneratedA from within the country visited (WTO, 1993).

2.2 Strategy ย Literature review available in strategy discussed many aspects aboutท the concept of the strategy. There are some definitions of strategy given below: ้าไ Harvard’s Alfred Chandler (1962) defined strategy as “theร deคtermination of the basic long term goals and objectives of an enterprise and กthe าadoption of courses of action and allocation of resources necessary for carrying outอ these goals” C Strategy is about positioning a businessห in a given industryC structure (porter,1985) ลัย T William F. Glueck (1980) definedา strategy as “a unified, comprehensiveU and integratedd plan designed to ensure that theย basic objectives, ofb they enterprise are achieved”.ve Mintzberg (1987) defined strategyิท as “plan, policy, pattern, position, perspective”r according to new าว t@ e approach. Asห plan, strategy deals howh leaders establish directesion for organization, to set predetermined action plan. As poiglicy, strategy takes us intor the real of direct competition, ิ์ ม yr ts ิทwhereธ threats and rick andp various schemes arhe employed to gain advantage. As pattern, ส strategy focusesC on oaction. As position, strategyrig encourages us to look at organizations in their competitive environment. As perspective,l strategy referred as strategic intent. ลิข l From the above discussion,A the strategy concept covers the overall purpose of an organization, which means the concept is multi-dimensional. Hax and Majluf in 1991, thereafter defined the concept if strategy to have the following aspects:

• Coherent, unifying, and integrative pattern of decisions; 17

• Determines and reveals the organizational purpose in terms if long term objectives, action programs, and resource allocation priorities;ทย • Selects the business the organization is in or is to be in;ไ ค้า • Attempts to achieve a long – term sustainableาร advantage in each of its business, by responding properly กto the opportunities a nd threats in the firm’s environment and the หstrengthsอ and weaknessesC of the organization; • C Engages all the hierarchicalลัย levels of the firmT (corporate, business and functional); andา U ย y ed • Defines ิทthe nature of the economicb and non-economicrv contributions it intendsาว to make to its stakeholders.t@ se ห h e ม rig r 2.2.1 ิ์ Business Strategy y ts ิทธ p h ส There areC twoo concepts for businessrig strategy, which are significant. One is the ิข strategic business unit (SBU) and anotherl is choice of competitive business strategy. ล Al The management consulting firm Arthur D. Little, Inc. (ADL) offers five clues to define a SBU. They are competitors – the business unit should have a single set of competitors, prices- all products belonging to a business unit should be affected by price changes, customers business unit should have a single set of well defined customers, quality/style – 18

in a properly defined business unit, changes in a quality and style effects in products simultaneously, substitutability – all products in a business unit should ทbe ยrelatively close substitutes, and divestment or insolvency – all belonging to a given้า businessไ unit should be able to stand alone as an autonomous viable economic entityร ifค divested. Choice of competitive business strategy has twoา sets of factors in deciding how to position the business within its competitive environmกent. They are environmental; scanning อ C – external analysis, which gives theัย ideasห for threats and opportunities,C and internal scrutiny internal analysis, which providesล the position of strengthsUT and weaknesses. า d ย by ve 2.3 Destination ิท r าว t@ se A touristห destination is usuallyh thought of as facilitiesre and services designed to cater the needs of a tourist. Indeed, a itouristg destination tends to bring together all the aspects of ิ์ ม yr ts tourismธ including the pdemand, transportation,h the supply and marketing. Therefore, ิทdestination is where othe most significant andig dramatic elements of tourism occur where the ส C l r ลิข inbound tourism is located. Usually ldestination is a location where the attractions and all the other support facilities neededA by tourist are available.

Destinations can be seen as varied; still we find certain common features in most of destinations. Firstly, destinations are amalgamation of many components like cultural, economic and environmental components. Differences in these components create 19

variations in destinations. Secondly, destinations are cultural appraisals due the fact that tourist consider destination has to be attractive and worth spending. Thirdly,ทย destinations are inseparable. This implies that tourism is consumed where it is้า beingไ produced. Finally, the multiple is the nature of destinations. Tourist destinations คare not only used by tourist, rather a destination can have amenities that are beneficialาร to others as well including local community. ก อ C As the demand for tourism increasesัยห and pressure from Cgrowing number of tourists may lead to degradation of a destinationล due to lack properT facilities and services. Therefore there is need of planningา and strategy formulatU ion in order to keep the ย y ed destination competitive ิทand attractive for the inboundb tourism. rv Tourist destinationsว are the central@ elements of the tourisme system. Features of า ht s destinationsมห can be classified underig two main categories r e(Laws, 1995). Primary features includeิ์ climate, ecology, culturer and traditions.s Secondary features comprise of ธ py ht ิทinfrastructural and entertainmento developmentsig especially designed to meet the needs of ส tourism industry. These two categoriesr of features somehow contribute to the overall ิข C ll ล attractiveness of any destination.A

2.3.1 Destination Ecosystem Relationships between firms are now seen as an importantท ยcomponent of competitive advantage, with the ‘‘relational’’ perspective now้า positionedไ legitimately alongside the other strategy frameworks of industry (Porter,ร 1980)ค and resource-base views (Rumelt, 1984; Barney, 1991) in assisting us to understandา organizational dynamics. This ‘‘relational’’ perspective is particularly relevantอ in กthe tourism industry, as groupings of organizations cluster together to form a destinationห context. ComplementaryCC products of activities, accommodation, transportล andัย food co-exist alonTgside support activities and infrastructure to form a complexา system of connectionsU and interrelationships. Within ย y ed tourism, two characteristicsิท emerge that becomeb pertinent to the relationalrv perspective. Tourism destinationาว generally comprisest @different types of complementaryse and competing organizations, multiple sectors, infrastructureh and an array of public/private linkages that มห ig re createิ์ a diverse and highly yfragmentedr supply structure.ts ธ p h สิท o rig ิข 2.3.2 Types of destinationsC ll ล Based on the location, attractiAons and infrastructure, destinations can be grouped into different types. Each type has its own special attractions. Destinations are also grouped base on the type of tourist visiting. Following are the major type of tourism destination:

1. Coastal areas 21

It could also be a specific coastal resort or any coastal areas that has attractions. Islands that are destinations popular specifically for their coastlinesทย are also acceptable. Popular beaches are also included in this category้าไ of destinations. 2. Tourist towns and cities: An acceptable destinationค to use in this category is a specific town or city which is known for tourism. าThisร includes capital cities (such as Yangon, Mandalay). These destinationsอ areก using man made. Attraction in these destinations is usually technology หparks. There are facilitiesCC for sporting events entertainments facilities andล otherัย man made landmarks.T 3. Business and conferenceา destinations: These U destinations ared usually the commercial centersย where business peopley travel for attendinge meeting and ิท b rv conferences.าว The places host facilitiest@ to cope with businessse tourists, such as large conferenceห and exhibitiong centhers, a range of businessre tourist facilities including a มlarge number of four starri and five star hotels, good transport links. They are usually ธิ์ y ts ิท located in close pproximity to an internationalh airport o ig ิขส 4. CountrysideC areas: These arel ruralr areas away from town and cities and do not ล necessarily have specificA namedl resorts. They are areas that incorporate a number of features, such as mountains, lakes, forests, hills. These places usually have National Park, Wildlife sanctuaries and reserved areas. People who want to see natural beauty visit these places. 22

5. Heritage and cultural destinations: These are specific towns, cities, villages and resorts that are known for having maintained the history andท heritageย of the destination and the culture of the region or country. Heritage้า sitesไ depict history. These places have ancient monuments, palaces andค other attractions of historic importance. Cultural destinations, as a part of heritageาร site, enable visitors to know about the cultural traditions of the local อplace.ก Heritage and cultural destinations are preserved sites. ห CC 2.3.3. Destination Attractiveness ัย T าล U d In tourism market, ยit’s the destinations thaty compete, not the eindividual firms ([Ritchie, J. R. B., & Crouch,ิท G. I. (2000)). In bfact, every destinationv has to position its ว @ er products in suchา a way that givesh tthem character and spersonality. The traditional fragmented หstructure of the tourismg market has spurredre the development of met ิ์ ม ri s managementธ organizationsp ycalled destination managementht organizations (DMOs) [Ruggero ิทSainaghi, 2005]. ส Co rig ิข The attractiveness of a destinationll reflects the feelings and opinions of its visitors ล about the destination’s perceivedA ability to satisfy their needs. The more a destination is able to meet the needs of the tourists, the more it is perceived to be attractive and the more the destination is likely to be chosen. Mayo and Jarvis (1980), define attractiveness as, ‘the perceived ability of the destination to deliver individual benefits’. This ability is enhanced by the attributes of a destination, i.e. those components that makeup a 23

destination. This is a demand side perspective of the destination. The importance of these attributes help people to evaluate the attractiveness of a destination ทand ยmake relevant choices. The attractiveness of a tourist destination encourages people้าไ to visit and spend time at the destination. Therefore the major value of destinationค attractiveness is the pulling effect it has on tourists. Without the attractiveness,า รtourism does not exist and there could be little or no need for tourist facilitiesอ andก services. It is only when people are attracted to a destination that facilities and หservices follow (FerrarioC 1979b).C Studies of destination attractivenessลัย have centered onT the needs of the tourists and what attracts them to various destinationsา (Formica 2001; U Hu and Ritchie 1993)d while those on destination competitivenessย have focused on ythe ability of organizationse to produce ิท b rv products that areา acceptedว internationallyt (Kozak@ and Rimmingtons e1999; Newall 1992). Attractionsห are the primary elementsh of destinationr eappeal to visitors. They are the key motivators for visitation to iag destination (Crouch and Ritchie 1999). They are the ิ์ ม yr ts ิทfundamentalธ reasons whyp prospective visitorsh choose one destination over another. Prominent writers haveo grouped and classifiedig attractions into five main groups: cultural, ส C l r ลิข natural, events, recreation and entertainment.l The range of activities within a destination is an important pull factor and representsA some of the most critical aspects of destination appeal. Moreover destination managers have significant control and influence over the mix of activities. The mix of activities is a result of initiatives and creativities by the destination. 24

The activities are important as tourists increasingly seek experiences that go beyond the more passive visitation practices of the past (Crouch and Ritchie, 1999). ทย ้าไ 2.3.4 Destination Supporting Facilities รค Supporting facilities provide the foundation uponา which a tourism industry is based ก (Crouch and Ritchie 1999). The attractiveness อof a destination is enhancedC by its ability to provide facilities that tourists can use at theห destination. C ลัย T 2.3.5 Experience Environmentา U ย y ed In tourism bothิท the physical and socialb environment play rav major role in the attractiveness ofา a วdestination, culminatingt@ in tourist satisfaction.se The place in which the experience enjoyed has been definedh as the environment in which the service is assembled ห ig re and theิ์ ม firm and customery inter ract (Baker et al.t s1992). Both the physical and social environmentsธ are importantp for the acceptabilithy and satisfaction of the consumer. The ิท o ig ิขส environment in Cwhich a service is providedl r in terms of both the physical and the social ล element has been termed theA servicesl cape (Bitner 1992). The experience (service) environment (Clarke and Schmidt 1995) consists of four elements: the physical facility, the location, ambience and interpersonal conditions. The service environment is postulated to impact on the behavior of an individual in three ways: cognitively, physiologically and affectively. Kotler (1973) defined atmospherics (experience environment) as the designing 25

of buying and consumption environments to produce specific emotional effects in the consumer that enhance and maintain purchase probability. ทย Tourism and the physical environment are inseparable้า companions,ไ as most destinations are based on the natural attractions. The manageคment of the environment is one of the most important issues facing the world at theา momentร (Middleton and Hawkins 1998). Though some scholars have criticized อthisก relationship, (Butler 2000) there is no doubt that tourism and the environment areห in a complex relationship.CC The quality of the environment is related to the attractivenessลัย of a destination.T Mihalic (2000) posits that a well-managed destination environmentา is the best destination U advertiser. d Consumer behaviorsย and tourism literaturye suggest that the environment,e both ิท b rv physical and social,าว is an integral part tof@ the tourism experiencee and plays an important role in the attractiveness, satisfactionh and competitiveness of sa given destination. Further, ห ig re literatureิ์ ม searches reveal that rthe destination environments is made up of various elements. Theธ major elements that shapey the destination envirt onment include crowding, safety and ิท op gh ส security, human Cresources development, rcompetitioni and cooperation. ิข l ล Al 2.3.6 Human Resources

Human resources development has been identified as the most single-important issue facing world tourism in the 2000s, (Esichaikul and Baum 1998). The availability of adequately and professionally trained staff is an essential component of today’s 26

destinations. Well-trained personnel are required in all service establishments at a destination (Briguglio and Vella 1995). However, because the quทalityย of customer experience in tourism is human resource based, a destination’s ability้าไ to develop sufficient human resources should be seen as a competitive advantageค (Baum 1994a; Conlin and Titcombe 1995). าร ก อ C 2.4 Tourism Development in Myanmar ห C ลัย T When we mention the nameา of Myanmar, we are U reminded of the ancientd palaces, city walls, terraces, glitteringย golden pagodas andb yteeming whitewashedv stupas.e Myanmar occupies largest area ิทon the Southeast Asian peninsula. Its area coversr about 680,000 าว t@ e square kilometers.ห The area of Myanmarh is roughly equal eto thats of The United Kingdom and France together. The countryig shares border with Chin ra in the north and the northeast, ิ์ ม yr ts Laosธ in the east, Thailandp in the southeast. In hthe west Myanmar shares common border ิทwith India and Bangladesh.o In the south- westg is the Indian Ocean and Myanmar's coastline ส C ri ิข extends from where Myanmar andl lBangladesh meet, down southwards, ending in the ล southern extremity where MyanmarA and Thailand meet - making a very long coastline of over 2000 kilometers.

The coastal region is known as Lower Myanmar, while the interior region is known as Upper Myanmar. A horseshoe-shaped mountain complex and the valley of the Irrawaddy 27

River system are the country's dominant topographical features. The mountains of the northern margin rise upto 5,881 m (19,295 ft) atop Hkakabo Razi, thทe highestย peak in Southeast Asia. The two other mountain systems have northern้า toไ southern axes. The Arakan Yoma range, with peaks mostly between 915 m (3,000ค ft) and 1,525 m (5,000 ft), forms a barrier between Myanmar and the subcontinentา ofร India. The Bilauktaung Range, the southern extension of the Shan Plateau, liesอ alongก the boundary between southwestern Thailand and southeastern Lower Myanmar.ห The Shan Plateau, originatingCC in China, has an average elevation of about 1,215 mล (aboutัย 3,986 ft). T Generally narrow and elonาgated in the interior, theU central lowlands attaind a width of about 320 km across the Irrawaddy-Sittangย delta. They deltaic plains, extremelye fertile and ิท b rv economically theา mostว important sectiont of@ the country, cover san earea of about 47,000 sq km Both theห Arakan (in the northwest)h and the Tenasserimre (in the southwest) coasts of Myanmar are rocky and fringed iwithg islands. The country has a number of excellent natural ิ์ ม yr ts ิทharbors.ธ p h The combinationo of mountain rangesig and coastal lines along with the ancient ส C l r ลิข monuments including the golden pagodasl and palatial structures make Myanmar one of the most attractive tourist destinationsA for leisure tourist. The location and accessibility makes it an easy destination as well.

2.4.1 Climate Myanmar has three climatic conditions in a year. The climate ofท Myanmarย can be divided into three seasons. The summer season has the highest้า temperature.ไ It starts in March and ends in April. In Central Myanmar summerร temperatureค goes up to 43.3 Degrees Celsius. While in Northern Myanmar the summerา temperature is about 36 Degree Celsius. Myanmar receives rainfall from mid-Mayอ toก end of October, with annual rain fall of less than 10 inches in Central Myanmarห while the coastal CregionsC of Rakhine and Tanintharyi get about 200 inches. ลัย T The winter season startsา from November to endU of February with temperature in ย y ed hilly areas drops belowิท zero Degree Celsius. Asb a whole, the locatironv and topography of the country generateาว a diversity of climatet@ conditions. Seasonals echanges in the monsoon wind directionsห create summer, grainyh and winter seasons.re Extremes of temperature are rare. Theม direction of winds anrdi depression bring rains, and in some years severe storms ธิ์ y ts ิทoccur causing damageo inp Rakhine region. Ing Rakhineh and Tarintharyi regions, rainfall varies ส from year to year though it is not always rheavyi and creates no hardships. ิข C ll ล The climatic condition ofA Myanmar is not harsh. The temperatures are neither too high nor too low. The rainfall is moderate. As a result, the climate of Myanmar does not create any hardships for traveling. The transportations and aviation are not disrupted due to climate changes. This is favorable for tourism related activities.

2.4.2 Culture ย Myanmar is predominantly a Buddhist country with the Buddhistไทs making up about 80 percent of the population. The other religions practiced are้า Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. There is freedom to practice any religions whichร isค evident in the existence of religious buildings of different beliefs in large cities. าReligion plays so vital in a typical ก Myanmar Buddhist's life. Any individual’s routineอ cannot be separatedC from Buddhist rituals. The Buddhist calendar of Myanmar has a หfestival which lasts for three months in the rainy ัย TC season, approximately from Julyา toล October, during which U fasting is preserved, marriages and moving home is usuallyย put off. y ed ิท b rv Myanmarา liesว between two greatt@ ancient civilizations,s Indiae and China, and is largely influencedห by that of India,h yet Myanmar has rdevee loped its own culture with distinctive characteristics in termsig of culture. Myanmar inherited Pali, the sacred language, ิ์ ม yr ts ิทalongธ with astrology fromp India. Myanmar's population,h Buddhism is the center of individual life whereas the monasteryo is the center iofg the community. Myanmar people try to live ส C l r ลิข according to the basic five preceptsl of Buddhism in their daily activities. The people have preserved the traditions of close Afamily ties, respect for elders and simple native dress.

There is no gender discrimination. Everyone is entitled to equal rights, opportunity and treatment whether at work or at court by law. Women play a stronger role in Myanmar society. 30

People from Myanmar in Longyi greet each other and people from outside buy saying Mingalaba. Longyi is a sarong worn by both men and women.ท Mingalabaย is a greeting word translating to ‘auspiciousness to you’. ้าไ In Myanmar culture, age is considered as source ofร wisdomค and experience. Hence elder people are revered and respected. Elders กare าserved first at meals, and in their absence a spoonful of rice is put aside first in อthe pot as a token of Crespect before serving the meal. Young people would avoid sittingห on a higher level than the elders or passing in ัย TC front of them unless unavoidableา whenล they would tread Usoftly and with a slightd bow. Also, pointing a fingerย at Buddha images isy considered blasphemous,e although this ิท b rv custom has slowlyา วeroded. A custom oft the@ Burmese is to perambulae te clockwise around pagodas, rather than counter-clockwise.h s มห ig re ิ์ A Burmese wedding ris either religious ceremonys or a secular event. Wedding ธ py ht ิทevents depend up ono the status of the people.ig Rich people go for extravagant marriage ส functions whereas poor people manage withr simple celebrations. There is no dowry system ิข C ll ล in Myanmar. A

2.4.3 Transportation ย Myanmar has three international airports namely Yangon ไInternationalท Airport, Mandalay International Airport and Hanthawady International Airport.้า Incoming flights to these international airports connect Myanmar to all ofร itsค neighboring countries and countries like India and China. There are otherก flightsา outgoing from Myanmar to neighboring countries. อ ห CC Myanmar is well connecteลd withัย other neighboring Tcountries with road network. There are several transportationา infrastructure projects includU ing expansion ofd airports and expansion of road and rail links.ย y e ิท b rv There are threeว missing international@ rail links with India, eChina and Thailand as a หา ht es part ofิ์ Transม Asian Railways Netwrigork but feasibility studies r are being carried out. Myanmar isธ participating in regional measuresy to develop transportts infrastructure. ิท op gh ส ri ิข C ll ล 2.4.4 Destinations A Myanmar has many tourist attractions, which host specialty features in each of the destinations. There are historic monuments tracing back to the kings who ruled different regions of the modern Myanmar. Pagodas pose a scenic beauty at certain places with the golden tops. This gives the reason for the outside world to call Myanmar as “Golden Land”. 32

Beaches are other attractions. Rich flora and Fauna attracts nature lovers as well. Mountains are popular destinations for adventurous people who wouldท ยprefer to visit Myanmar. Destination for eco-tourism are fostering in certain areas้า of ไthe country. Bagan, also called as “Pagan” has over 2000 pagodasรค and temples spread over 50 square kilometers of area. The pagodas and temples dateา back more than 1500 years of history is the most fascinating place for visitors andก sightseeing tour by car, horse cart or อ C on a bicycle is enchanting. Also we can haveห a idyllic sunset boatC trip on the Ayeyarwaddy river to observe the beautiful sunset overัย Bagan while enjoyingT a cold drink. าล U Mandalay, the last capitalย of the Myanmar Kingsy is located in centrale Myanmar,d 668 km north of Yangon. Also known as Ratanabon-nebpyi (the Gem city), it was built in 1857 by วิท rv King Mindon. Today,า it is the second largestt@ city boasting its richs culturale heritage. It is also the commercialห centre with rail, road,h river and air links to alle parts of the country. The main ม rig r attractionsธิ์ at Mandalay arey “the elephant dancet sfestivals”, sprits festival” and “water ิทfestivals” p h ส Co rig ิข Inlay Lake is situated in the lhillyl Shan state in the eastern part of Myanmar. At an ล elevation of 900 meters aboveA sea-level, it is one of the main tourist attractions in Myanmar. The lake, 22 km long and 10 km wide, has a popular of some 150,000, many of whom live on floating islands of vegetation. Inlay lake, natural and unpolluted, is famous for its scenic beauty and the unique leg-rowing of the Inthar, the native lake-dwellers. 33

Moreover, floating villages, colorful daily floating market and Inlay spa are places worthy of visit. Inlay Lake held during October is full pageantry and colorful splendor.ท ย Ngapali is a pleasant and beautiful beach resort for those้า whoไ want to be away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Located on the Rakhineรค coast and is also known as the “Naples of the East”. This unspoiled beach stretchesา over 3 km with blue sea, white sand and swaying palm trees and is 35 minutes flightก from Yangon. The place is famous อ C for scenery, tasting the delights of localัย seafoodห and the native Cplace. Usually visitors can swim in clean and fresh seawater. ลThey also can enjoy the sharTk sights. The canopy of the coconut trees, provides excellentา place for sea sightseeing.U There are other attractions ย y ed which are of equal impoิทrtance and potential. b v ว @ er า t s ห gh re 2.5. Tourismม Development inr Bagani ธิ์ y ts ิท Bagan, also oknownp as the city if gfourh million pagodas, is one of the richest ส archaeological sites in Asia and the mainr itourist destination in Myanmar, it has been also ิข C ll ล capital of the first Myanmar Empire.A This enchanting city is situated in the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River. The ruins of Bagan city cover an area of 42 sq km containing over 2000 edifices. The majority of these well-preserved temples and pagodas offer a rich architectural heritage from the 11th to 13th century. 34

Bagan stands, even after hundred years of waste and decay, as a unforgettable sight, showing the greatness of human creation and aspiration. Todayท Baganย is just a skeleton of the past glorious kingdom. ้าไ Bagan is considered one of the Landmark of Asia รdueค to the fact that it consists of monuments of wide range of sizes, large diversity of าstyles and decoration. Recently the monuments have been either damaged by natural กforces of being demolished. Hence the อ C structures that were built by the ancientัยห Kings are not visibleC in their original forms. However, with help from UNESCOล and Japanese trust fundT many of the monuments are renovated and restored. า U ย y ed Involvement of ิทUNESCO and Japaneseb agency has increasedrv the popularity of Bagan as a tourist วdestination. Along with@ restoration of templese and palaces, Japanese า ht s trust fundม isห also formulating guidelinesig for protection and r promotione of cultural heritage in and aroundิ์ Bagan. This has createdr a scope of culturals tourism in Bagan. Several projects ธ py ht ิทhave been initiated ounder UNESCO and iJapaneseg trust fund. Upon completion of these ส projects, several tourist attractions will ber created. ิข C ll ล A

2.5.1 Transportation

Bagan is accessible either from Yangon or Mandalay. There are several airline services from Mandalay and Yangon to Bagan. These are either government owned or 35

private operators. Bagan has one small and old airport. Most of the airlines are local. The schedules for these airlines are not fixed rather they are changed time andท again.ย Some of the airlines that operate in this to Bagan are: ้าไ Air Mandalay flies several times a day from Yangonร andค Mandalay to Bagan. They also have seasonal flights from Chiang Mai, Thailandก toา Mandalay.Air Bagan also operates between Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan. This airlineอ has fleet of planesC that are larger than the planes used by Air Mandalay. ห C ลัย T The road network of Myanmarา covers Bagan. ThereU is road connectiond to Bagan from to popular cities, Mandalยay and Yangon. Bus yoperators have night buse services from ิท b rv Mandalay to Baganา วand also from Yangont@ to Bagan. The tickets fore bus journey are usually booked in advance. Foreign travelersh are required to present passport.s มห ig re ิ์ Bagan can also be reachedr by train from Mandalays and Yangon. There are several ธ py ht ิทtrains in a day. Like obus service train bookingig are also done in advance. The other option is ส to take river boat. This medium of transportr takes more time. It is interesting to travel from ิข C ll ล Mandalay to Bagan or YangonA to Bagan by river boats. Both fast and slow boats are available.

2.5.2 Attractions ย Bagan is the main tourist attraction in Myanmar and oneท of the richest archaeological sites in Asia. The whole of Bagan is densely studded้าไ with pagodas of all sizes and shapes. At one time, there were 13,000 tempรคles, pagodas and religious structures. Today, there are only over 2000 well-preservedกา pagodas and temples of the 11th-13th century. When viewed about Baganอ appears as an arcaCde of Golden shrine pagodas and temples. As a manifestationัยห of a dynamic and originalC form of architecture, Bagan stands alongside the other greatล Buddhist centre of SoutheastT Asia, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Borobudur in Jaาva. In its place is calmnessU and peace, and a vision of ย y ed wonder at how man wasิท capable of creating suchb a vast city of spiritual vmonuments. ว @ er Theseห templesา and pagodash weret either built bye kingss of Myanmar Empire or recently renovated structures. Eachg pagoda has its own imporr tance in the society and has ิ์ ม ri s mythธ associated with it. pTheyy reflect the evolutionh tof culture over centuries. The Myanmar ิทgovernment has begun a massive rebuilding effort to 'restore' some of these ancient ส Co rig ิข temples to build Bagan as importantl ltourist destination. Some of the pagodas and temple ล are worth mentioning here. A

Ananda Temple Shwezigon Pagoda Thatbyinnyu Temple ย ไท ค้า าร ก Gawdawpalin Temple Gubyaukgyiหอ Temple ShwesandawC Pagoda ัย T C าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ e Shwegugyi Temple Dhammayangyih Temple s Lawkananda Pagoda ห ig re ิ์ ม r s ธ py ht สิท o rig ิข C ll ล A Tharabar Gate Archaeological Museum Bu Pagoda 38

ทย ้าไ รค า ก Source: http://www.ancientbaganหอ.com/bagan-monuments.htmC Figure 2.1 Someัย monuments in BaganC ล UT 1. The temple of Ananda า d ย by ve Ananda Templeิท, one of the most impressive and exquisite rmonuments of Bagan าว t@ e was builtห by King Kyansitta inh 1901 AD. Four 30 feete talls wooden Buddha images representing the four Buddha’sig of the world-cycle r already enshrined were in four ิ์ ม yr ts ธ niches facing fourp cardinal points. Archeolhogists say that Ananda Temple is the best ิท preserved templeo of Bagan Architecture.g Both of the exterior and interior, fine carved ส C ri ิข stones, plaster and wood bearl lwitness to the superb craft of the masters of Bagan. ล The base and the terracesA are decorated with 554 glazed tiles showing jataka scenes (life stories of Buddha) thought to be derived from Mon texts. Huge carved teak doors separate interior halls from cross passages on all four sides.

2. Shwezigon Pagoda ย Shwezigon enshrines one of the four replicas of the Buddha ไtoothท from Sri Lanka. The other three are enshrined in Lawkananda, another one in Tank้า yi Taung Pagoda and the last one in Tuyin Taung Pagoda. There is a local sayingรค that if one person visits and pay homage to all these four pagodas in one day, าthe person will gain prosperity and ก fulfillment. The 10-cm circular indention in อa stone slab near theC eastern side of the pagoda is filled with water to allow royal หfamilies to look at the reflection of the hti (the tip ัย TC of the Pagoda). This allows าwatchingล of pagoda without U tipping heads backward. The graceful bell shape of thisย pagoda became a prototypey for virtually all latere dpagodas built across Myanmar. ิท b rv าว t@ se The หgilded pagoda sits ong threeh rising terraces. rThee passage on the Shwezigon pagodaิ์ ม platform Hsanun ot ralmsi offering bowls. Enamels ed plaques in panels around the ธbase of the Zedi illustratey scenes from the previoust lives of the Buddha. At the cardinal ิท op gh ส points, facing Cthe terrace stairways, areri four shrines, each housing a four-meter-high ิข bronze standing Buddha. l ล Al 3. Temple of Thatbyinnyu Over 66 metres hight: the Thatbyinnyu Temple, built by King Alaugsithu, in the middle of the 12th century, overtops all other monuments and its terrace affords visitors a magnificent panorama of the Bagan plain. 40

4. Temple of Gawdawpalin th ย This 13 century temple is similar to the Thatbyinnyu, with Buddhaท images on the four sides of the ground floor, with several refinements. About ้า60ไ meters high, the top terrace is used to be a popular place to catch the sunset รoverค the Ayeyarwaddy River. 5. Temple of Gubyaukgyi กา th It is a 13 century temple with a spireห resembอ ling the MahabodhiC Temple at Bodh Gaya in India. This temple is known foัยr its countless well preservedTC wall paintings depicting scenes from the 550า Jatakasล (life stories of theU Buddha). There ared 28 Buddha images in sitting position insideย the Temple. by ve 6. Shwesandaw Pagodaิท r าว t@ e th s Thisห pagoda was built by Kigngh Anawrahta; in earlyr 11e Century A.D. Shwesandaw Pagodaม is a cylindrical stupar withi five terraces, showing a strong Mon influence. This ธิ์ y ts ิท pagoda has a steepo stairwayp directly to theg terracesh for a popular sunset viewing from the ส upper level. ri ิข C ll ล 7. Temple of Shwegugyi A Built by King Alaungsithu, the Shwegugyi has not much left to see but historically this dark little temple is famous for the last day of a great king who was a noted sea traveler. The king was also the donor of the temple. When he was seriously ill, his son quickly removed him from the golden palace to this temple. The dying king, on his death 41

bed, miraculously regained consciousness. But it was too late that the son immediately came down from the palace and suffocated him with a pillow. ทย 8. Temple of Dhammayangyi ้าไ Dhammayangyi Pagoda is the most massive-looking tempคle in Bagan. It was built in late 12th century by King Narathu (1167-1170). Localา legendร says that the work was so demanding, the king mandated the mortar lessอ กbrickwork fit together so tightly so that even a pin couldn't pass between any twoห bricks. If a pin couldC penetCrate in between the bricks, then the slaves were killedล assumedัย as they lackT of efficient work. Small open places near the top of the passาage show intact stucco U relief's and paintings,d suggesting that work on the structureย had been completed. y e ิท b rv 9. Lawkananda วPagoda @ e า ht s ม Thisห pagoda was built byi Kingg Anawrahta in 1059 rA.D.e The riverside and the sunset viewิ์ from the Pagoda is oneyr of the tourist attractionts places in Bagan. Other attractions in ธBagan are Htilominlo Temple,p Sulamani Temple,h Mingalazedi Pagoda, Manuha Temple, ิท o ig ส and Bupaya Pagoda. r ิข C ll ล 10. Tharabar Gate A Tharabar Gate is the main gate of the east wall and the only structure left of the old city built by King Pyinbya. It was built in 849 AD during the 9th century. Tharabar is derived from the Pali term “Sarabhanga” meaning “shielded against arrows”. The ruins are the best preserved remains of the 9th-century wall, and the only gate still standing. 42

Traces of old stucco can still be seen on the gateway. The gate is known to be guarded by spiritual beings. On the left is the side of the gate is the brother "Lordท ofย the Great Mountain" and on the right side is the sister "Golden face". ้าไ 11. Archaeological Museum ค าร The new Bagan Museum glorifies the goldenก age of Burman culture, those 250 years during which thousands of templesห wereอ built in and around theC Myanmar capital of Bagan. The builder of Bagan apparentlyัย reserved brickT forC religious monuments for nothing remains of the otherา buildings,ล which must Uhave been wooden, din this great capital. The Bagan Archaeologiิทย cal Museum isb situatedy within Old Baganve city near the Gawdawpalin Templeว was established @in 1998. On entering thee mur seum, one will first view bronzeห statueา of four famous Kingsht of Bagan period namelyes Anawyahta, Kyansitthar, Alaungsethu and Kjaswa and largge three dimension of muralr painting on the wall depicted ิ์ ม ri s ธBagan Archaeologicalp Site.y Many masterpihecest of excavated objects and concrete ิท evidences are stored in this building. It has a collection of more than 2500 items including ส Co rig ิข Buddha statues, stucco pieces, terra-cottal cups and pots. ล Al Museum also houses stone sculptures, wood carvings, metal works, lacquer works, and many more. Different postures of Buddha images (Mudra) made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood are also displayed. Among them, one can see the significant bronze lotus Bud, a masterpiece of bronze sculpture of Bagan period. Myazedi 43

lithographed inscription of four languages in Pali, Pyu, Mon, and Myanmar is an astonishing literature and cultural heritage. ย ไท 12. Bu Paya (or) Bu Pagoda ค้า Bu Paya is said to be known to be constructedา duringร the 9th Century, about 850 AD. The pagoda serves as a navigational landmarkอก for travelers on the river. The pagoda was built by Pyusawdi, the third king หof Bagan. It is situatedCC on the bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River. It is a cylindricalลัย shaped Pyu-style pagodaT and is said to be the oldest among many templesา in Bagan. Bupaya wasU completely destroyedd when it tumbled into the river in ยthe 1975 earthquake, buty has since been totallye rebuilt. There ิท b rv are many stepsา leadingว into the river. t@ se ห h e 13. Mount Popa ig r ิ์ ม yr ts ธ About 67km southeastp of Bagan is Mounh t Popa, an extinct volcano over 1,500 ิท meters high, risingo out of the plains. It iisg famed as the abode of the Mahagiri Nats or ส C l r ลิข Spirit gods to whom the Kings ofl Bagan paid annual homage and their shrines can be seen at a nearby rocky crag.A The mountain is covered with pagodas and shrines. It is sometimes known as the Land of Nats or Spirit Gods.

2.5.3 Festivals and events Many colorful festivals are being organized in Bagan throughoutท theย year. These festivals constitute one of the attractions in the region along with้า theไ ancient monuments. Around 15 festivals attract thousands of domestic as well as คforeign tourists. Some of the important festivals include ‘water festival’ to celebrate Myanารmar New Year. Other events at different temples and pagodas attract hundreds อof visitorsก as well. ห CC 1. Ananda temple Festival ลัย T The most crowded celebrationา in the most beautifulU temple is Ananda temple. It’s ย y ed held to raise money forิท the upkeep of Bagan’sb thousand-year-old Anandarv temple. A tent city of stalls andา shopsว surrounds thet @temple. Most of thes peoplee would be having Thanaka on their face to keep one selvesh cool from the heat. This pagoda festival is not มห ig re only toิ์ worship the pagoday, rBuddha but also fort shopping.s There are different kinds of stallsธ and sell everythingp especially the productsh from the other regions of the country. ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล 2. Manuha Pagoda Festival Al The Manuha Pagoda Festival is an amazing donation at such a time. The homes in the neighborhood of this pagoda in Myinkaba Village, serve white rice cakes and pickled winter melon to all comers. Trays are set outside the houses and they are offer with snacks. It is known as “Sadu Ditha “or the free donation of food. The festival is for two 45

days. Paper mach characters are also created with one’s own ideas and displayed at such a time. The paper figures are colorful and also of a variety of design. ทThereย are animals such as tigers, horses, crocodiles or even a gigantic rabbit. There้า ไare also villages and locals selling local products and home made products on the wayค to the pagoda. าร 2.5.4 Supporting Facilities อก Bagan has been gaining awarenessห among the potentialC tourCists in recent years. There are many hotels ranging fromล ัยdiscount hotels to fiveT star hotels. The hotels are organized to capture different าcustomer segments. Luxury U hotels like Bagand Hotel River View claim to be environmentalย friendly which increasesy the credibility of Bagane as tourism ิท b rv destination amongา วpotential visitors. Theret@ are accommodations wheree by any segment of visitors can หput up themselves. gh re Transportation within Bagani is basically by road. One can hire cars or use the ิ์ ม yr ts ิทtransportationsธ arrangedp by the tour operators.h Horse carts and motorbikes are also available for those whoo want to take short trips.ig ิขส C l r ล Information regarding transportation,Al attractions, etc can be obtained from tourist centers. There are many travel agents who deal with organizing tourism activities ranging from sightseeing to trekking to mount Popa. Companies even operate from other regions like Yangon, Mandalay, etc to organize tours to Bagan.

2.6 Past Researches Bob McKercher and Pamela S.Y.Ho (2006) studied the assessmentทย of tourism potential cultural and heritage attractions in Hong Kong. In their้า ไpaper “Assessing the Tourism Potential of Small Cultural and Heritage Attractions”,ร Bobค and Pamela developed a framework for assessing the potential of any destinationา which hosts cultural and heritage attractions. Julian Clifton and Angela Benson (2อ006)ก worked on the planning for sustainable ecotourism with regards to developing หcountry destinations. CTheyC have distinguished ecotourism and research ecotourism.ล Muchัย of the literature Tis concentrated on ecotourism as related to environmental aspectsา of tourism destination.U Though, not that prominent in ย y ed the tourism industry newิท sector in tourism is emberging – the researchr vtourism. This sector basically concentratesาว on those visitors twho@ are researchers. Thesese researchers can be of diverse fieldsห including those whog doh researches on archraeologicale predominance in any tourist destinations.ม ri ธิ์ y ts ิท Transport is oonep of the main pillars gof htourism industry. Les Lumsdon et al (2006) ส explored the use of public transport in tourisri m industry. The study focused on investigating ิข C ll ล the means to encourage touristsA for using public transport to visit countryside in UK. Due to severe competition in tourism, the service providers are facing decline in number of visitors using their service. This has lead to adopting more luxurious transportation. As a result the multi-modal public transport appears unattractive to tourists. Les Lumsdon et al, in their paper “Transport for Tourism: Can Public Transport Encourage a Modal shift in the Day 47

Visitor Market?” argue that multi-modal public transport offer convenience and flexibility to the users. ทย Tourism products of any destination consist of three basic ้าelements:ไ leisure activity, accommodation and transportation. Destination managementค will have to assess the impacts of these elements to environment and other stakeholderาร s of the destinations. Paul Peeters and Frans Schouten (2006) in paper “Reducingอก the Ecological Footprint of Inbound Tourism and Transport to Amsterdam”, studieหd the impacts of Caccommodation,C activities and local transport in tourism as ลwellัย as on the destinationT concerned. They argue that information concerning the impacาt of different elements ofU destination ecosystemd can help a destination to focus its strategiesย towards increasingy sustainability. e ิท b rv Janet E. าDicksonว and Julie A. Dicksont@ (2006) in paper s“Locale Transport and Social Representations:ห Challenging the hAssumptions for Sustainablere Tourism” studied the dilemma of how to manage tourisigm related traffic at rural destination in UK from social ิ์ ม yr ts ิทrepresentationธ perspectivesp in designing localh transports alternatives for tourism destinations. The researcho came clear thatig people do not hold public transport in high ส C l r ลิข regard and it is debatable that car lusers would switch to an improved system despite a widely held social representationA that ‘if public transport was improved people would use it more’. Elisabeth Kastenholz in her paper “Management of demand as a tool in Sustainable Tourist Destination Development” suggested that ‘management of demand’ as an important 48

instrument for the sustainable development of a tourist destination. The paper explores the tourist destinations market in North Portugal. The author proposed ทa methodologyย for analyzing a destination’s tourist market with the objective of enhancing้าไ its capacity to achieve sustainable tourism development by careful selectionค of, and catering to, specific target market segments. This method deals with าassessingร the destination-fit and attractiveness of any destination. อก Anna Carr, in her paper “Mountainห Places, Cultural SpacCes:C The Interpretation of Culturally Significant Landscapes”,ล carriedัย out study regardinTg the visitors experiences of the cultural interpretations at Aoraki/Mountา Cook National U Park, New Zealand. dThe research found that visitors awarenesยs of the cultural significancy e, on-site interpretatione and ิท b rv interpretation themesาว are some of the tissues@ that needs to sbee looked into in order to develop andห manage competitive tourismh destinations. rInternate ional visitors preferred to have interpretive media for culturigal and heritage interp retation. Visitors’ satisfaction is the ิ์ ม yr ts ิทguidingธ factor for the visitorsp to chose for re-visits.h Metin Kozak oand Kevin Neild supportig that future competitiveness of destinations is ส C l r ลิข based on the extent to which they lare concerned about the sustainability of their natural, economic and cultural resources.A This was proposed by Laws (1995) and further studied by Gunn (1997). Metin and Kevin studied the importance of destination benchmarking in their paper “Role of Quality and Eco-Labeling Systems in Destination Benchmarking”. The study was carried out from the perspectives of quality systems and eco-labeling. Apart from 49

quality systems benchmarking is also achieved by having partners through which it is possible to draw ideas on better or new practices. There is close relationshipทย between benchmarking and competitiveness, because the former is expected้าไ to achieve latter (Camp, 1989; Zairi, 1994; Metin and Kevin, 2004). As a resuคlt, quality and eco-labeling standards and awards, as a way of defining benchmarks,าร and if used to improve performance could be expected to impact uponอ competitivenesก s and competitive advantage of tourist destinations. The study concludedห other impacts of benchmarkingCC which include: • Helping customers chooseล destinationsัย or improvingT consumer awareness of the destination า U ย y ed • Learn about theิท best practices in destinationb development andr managementv • Sustaining continuousว improvement@ and remain competitivee า ht s • มIdentifyingห critical successig factors re •ิ์ Measuring the externalr performance of destinationss ธ py ht สิท • Establishing onetworks with otherri gmembers to improve the performance of ิข destinationC ecosystem ll ล • Adhering to and practicingA the guidelines of quality systems will have positive impacts on the local community

Several researches have been done to assess and measure the sustainability of tourism destinations. J. Fernando Vera Rebollo and Josep A. Ivars Baidal (2003) in their 50

paper “Measuring Sustainability in Mass Tourist Destination: Pressures, Perceptions and Policy Responses in Torrevieja, Spain” juxtaposed the concept of sustainableทย development in small-scale tourism practices. The paper affirms the need to incorporate้าไ the principles of sustainable development within the planning and managementค of tourist destinations. They used the indicators that are being used to measure theา sustainabilityร of small-scale tourism destinations. The paper also delves into the assessmentอก of local government policies which either deter or enhance sustainable developmentห of tourist destinationsCC . The approach included consideration of different ลpoliciesัย viz development policy,T tourist promotion policy, cultural policy, environmental าpolicy and social policy. U Alison Caffyn and dGuy Jobbins (2003) elaborated the needย of integrated destinationy management with regarde to coastal ิท b rv tourism in theirา paperว “Governance tCapacity@ and Stakeholseder Interactions in the Developmentห and Management of Coastalh Tourism: Examplesre from Morocco and Tunisia. The paper draws conclusions iregardingg the importance of governance systems, power ิ์ ม yr ts ิทrelationships,ธ democraticp processes and local hparticipation in developing and managing sustainable tourism destination.o ig ส C l r ลิข Seldjan Timur studied the rolel of stakeholders and identification of stakeholders in tourism destination developmentA in his paper “Analyzing Urban Tourism Stakeholder Relationships: A Network Perspective”. In order that the goals of destination are achieved, it is imperative that tourism destinations identify appropriate stakeholders and manage diverse stake holders. 51

In 1993, John L. Cromton and Paul K. Ankomah, studied the process destination choices made by the potential tourists. They came up with the conclusionทย that potential tourist develop an early set of possible destination and then reduce้า ไthis number to form a late consideration set of probable alternatives. They makeค final selection from the alternatives. Destination managers are supposed to focusาร on the criteria set used by the potential tourist to adequately manage the destinations.อก Glenn F. Ross (1993) focused on the destination evaluations, revisitatiหon intentions, vacationCC preferences and sociodemographic characteristics ofล budgetัย travelers in his Tpaper “Destination Evaluation and Vacation Preferences”. Stanlyา Toops studied the role U of handicrafts in thed development of tourism in Xinjiang, Chiยna. The paper concludesy that international etourism causes ิท b rv evolution of craftsา intoว two types: touristict @and ethnic crafts. se In 1992,ห Hacer Harlak, studiedh the importancer ofe interpersonal relationship in tourism industry which is a socialig phenomenon. This study caters to human resource ิ์ ม yr ts ิทaspectธ of destination management.p Martin Oppermann’sh (1995) study “Travel Life Cycle” reflects that there iso change in the destinationig choice patterns across the life cycle and ส C l r ลิข successive tourism pattern, destinationl choice, and generation differences. Peggy and Shirlena, in their study titled “TourismA and Heritage Conservation in Singapore” reflect the difference in perception about the heritage between international travelers and domestic travelers. Adrain and David (1995) studied the complexity and interdependency among the stakeholders in tourism destination management. In the paper “Tourism Destination 52

Marketing Alliances” Adrin and David conceptualized the importance of alliances in tourism destination management particularly in destination marketing. ทย Hilary du Cros et al (2005) published paper “Cultural Heritage้าไ Assets in China as Sustainable Tourism Products: Case Studies of the Hutongs andค the Huanghua Section of the Great Wall”. This papers deals with commodificationา ofร tourism products and heritage conservation. The authors argue that commodiอficationก of tourism products and heritage conservation has put many destinations atห a crossroad. Two optionCsC are proposed by the paper for the commodification andล conservationัย of potentialT tourist attractions. One is to follow heavy site hardening andา rebuilding to withstand Uthe visitation pressured from mass domestic and international ยtourism. The other optiony is to designate somee attractions as ิท b rv future niche productsาว by limiting the numbert@ of tourist to thes edestination. Wei Hu and Geoffrey Wallห (2005) in research titledh “Environmental Management,re Environmental Image and the Competitive Tourist Attraction”ig stress the impo rtance of strategies regarding ิ์ ม yr ts ิทenvironmentalธ managementp incorporated in destinationh management strategies. Several studies have been conductedo regarding destinationig and attraction competitiveness. These ส C l r ลิข researches have common stance andl strategies are proposed to enable destinations to retain or gain superior position inA the tourism market (Faulkner et al, 1999; Hassan, 2000; Huybers and Bennet, 2003; Kozak and Rimmington, 1999; Mihalic, 1999; Ritchie and Crouch, 2003; Wei Hu and Geoffrey Wall, 2005). 53

A numerous studies (Hassan, 2000; Huybers and Bennet, 2003; Mihalic, 1999; Wei and Wall, 2005) argued that tourism competitiveness can be increasedท by ยenhancing the destination’s environmental attractiveness through environmental้าไ management and marketing strategies. Li (2003) used cultural and socialค dimension to explain the competitiveness of destinations. Hassan (2000) andา Weiร et al (2005) argue that if a destination is promoting environmental friendliอnessก and is indeed practicing such claims, then it will become competitive. ห CC Bill Faulker (2003) has indicatedลัย the importance Tof events for promotion and management of tourism destinatาion in his article “Evaluat U ing the Tourismd Impacts of Hallmark Events” with referenceย to Sydney Olympicsy 2000. Many authors (Getz,e 1989; Hall, ิท b rv 1987; Matzitelli 1987;าว Pyo et al. 1988; Vant@ der Lee and Williams,s e1986; Bill Faulker, 2003) referred to tourismห development as ah rationale for the stagingre of gala events. Such events become important part of tourismig destination marketing. In “A Model for the Evaluation of ิ์ ม yr ts ิทNationalธ Tourism Destinationp Marketing Programs”,h Bill Faulker (2003) has proposed a structure for evaluatingo tourism destinationi gmarketing. “Towards a framework for Tourism ส C l r ลิข Disaster Management” is the studyl report presentated by Bill Faulker (2003) on management of disaster and crisesA that tourism destinations are prone to face. The author proposes a Tourism disaster management framework in the report. Though bulks of papers have been published on different aspects of destination development and destination management, very few have been done focusing on any 54

tourist destinations in Myanmar. Researches on destination competitiveness, evaluation of destination attractiveness, events management are prevalent. Environmentalทย Management at tourist destinations is the most researched topic in sustainable้า ไtourism management. Recently crisis and disaster management have diverted researchesค in tourism industry. Many destinations are being used as case studies byา reseรarchers across the globe but Myanmar tourism destination have received littleอ attention.ก ห CC 2.7 Conclusion ลัย T Tourism is becoming moreา visible in world economy.U Many countries are orienting ย y ed their economy towards tourism sector. Tourismb is becoming the backbone of many วิท rv countries’ economy.า In many countries ttourism@ has become thes emajor source of income generation, employment creation andh source of national wealth. Governments are framing ห ig re policiesม to safeguard natural enrvironment and cultural heritage to foster tourism. With the ธิ์ y ts ิทemergence of tourismop as a major growthg hsector in the global economy, national ส governments have become increasinglyr iaware of the role this industry can play in ิข C ll ล enhancing a country’s trade Aperformance. Many have thus sought to improve the competitiveness of destinations and are formulating policies to exploit the potential along with environmental protection and heritage conservation.

The global business sphere is getting competitive day by and tourism sector in no exception. The global scenario for tourism industry is dynamic and is changing due to the 55

fact that global market is declining and more destinations are emerging to compete within the existing market. Competitiveness in this setting demands for moreท strategicย focus at both individual enterprise levels as well as at destination as a whole.้า ไAs tourism product is a composite of services and goods, the quality of the visitors’ค experience depends on both firms providing services and destinations which is anา integralร part of tourism products. Therefore an integrated approach to managementอก should be envisaged. An approach of destination ecosystem will be beneficial wherebyห different playersC in theC industry coordinate to make the products and services ลattractiveัย to potential visitors.T There have many attemptsา to define tourism.U Academicians define tourism in ย y ed academic terms basedิท on the components whbich include range ofr individuals,v business units, organizationา วand places where peoplet@ travel to. Economistsse view tourism as an economic activity whereas governmentsh consider tourism as considers as job creator and มห ig re revenueิ์ generator. Local ygover rnments see tourismts as economic regenerator and an importantธ local employer.p h ิท o ig ส Destinations as an integral part rof the tourism industry is usually thought of as ิข C ll ล facilities and services designedA to cater the needs of a tourist. Indeed destinations are amalgamation of many components like cultural, economic and environmental components. Tourist destinations are the central elements of the tourism system. Different types of destinations have emerged over time and are getting modified to cater to the needs of visitors. Coastal areas, tourist towns and cities, business and conference destinations, 56

countryside areas and Cultural and Heritage site some of the prominent destination types. Recently eco-tourism destination and medical tourism destinations are alsoท emerging.ย Evolution of tourism is closely linked with evolution of destinat้าไions. As the industry evolves it adds complexity to destination management approaches.รค Destination tourism management is increasingly becoming more sophisticatedา worldwide. The success of destination is has been driven by an integrated tourismก management structure. Destination อ C management strategies should clearlyัย identifyห aspects like Cdestination attractiveness, destination competitiveness, destinationล supporting faciTlities, creating experience environment for the visitors, าhuman resource at theU destination, communication and ย y ed promotion, capacity planning,ิท events managembent, crisis and disasterrv management and creation of cooperativeว destination ecosystems.@ e า ht s มSeveralห researches havei gbeen done to evaluate there competitiveness of destination with ิ์ regard to the aspects rof destination developmens t and management. Different ธ py ht ิทframeworks have beeno developed by academiciansig and are successfully tested empirically. ส Destination management approaches arer studied more from the angle of sustainable ิข C ll ล tourism development. Recently Asustainable tourism management has received attention with regards to environment and security of the destination. Different studies at different destinations in different regions have helped academicians and business world to adequately cope up with the destination management issues and understand the demand aspect of tourism industry. 57

Myanmar being an exotic location for leisure tourism with host of historical and heritage sites is not being able to receive attention of tourists as that ofท otherย neighboring countries. Known by the name ‘Golden Land’ there is many golden้า ไpagodas and temples dating back to the Myanmar Empire. Bagan is one of the destinatiค ons in Myanmar with huge potential for international tourism. With attractionsา thatร can be considered to be the wonders of the world Bagan can be regenerator of hugeก revenue. หอ C ัย TC าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 58

ย CHAPTER 3 ท ้าไ METHODOLOGY รค กา This chapter highlights the methodologyอ adopted to completeC the research study. It deals with details of conceptual frameworkห used to reach the expected outcomes of the ัย TC study. Research design, locationา ofล the study, sampling, U and questionnaire design aspect for primary data collection andย analysis of the collectedy data is also dealt ine detail.d ิท b rv 3.1 Research Frameworkาว t@ se The หstudy was conductedg basedh on the conceptualre framework drawn integrating Kano’s (1984) with the SERVQUALi model. However, the attributes for measurement of the ิ์ ม yr ts ิทsatisfactionธ of tourists pvisiting Bagan were identifiedh based on Beerli et al., (2004) as discussed earlier. Theo conceptual frameworkig is adopted from Tan and Pawitra (2001) as ิขส C l r ล illustrated in Figure 3.2, integratingl Kano’s and SERVOUAL model. The determinants of above mentioned aspects wereA being considered both from suppliers’ side as well as demand side. Suppliers include the several organizations that are part of the destination ecosystem. Demand side includes the perspective visitors to the destination in question (Bagan). 59

Indicators and determinants are being identified based on the theoretical review of destination management and past researches that are being conductedท in differentย region around the globe. Past researches are being briefly presented in chapter้าไ two along with the theoretical back ground on destination development and desคtination management issues. Underpinning the survey instruments are a set of indicatorsาร of destination competitiveness, attractiveness, and availability of supporting facilitiอes,ก environment, human resource, crisis management and events management. It isห being established thatC indicatorsC of destination competitiveness are many and variลed.ัย The fact that there Tis no single or unique set of indicators that apply to all destinationsา at all times (Dwyer U, Livaic and Mellor, 2003)d is taken into account. The dominantsย cover objectively measuredy variables such ase visitor numbers, ิท b rv market share, employment,าว earnings, ast @well as subjectively measurse ed variables such as climate, richnessห of attractiveness,g image,h appeal, beauty retc.e ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 60

Problem Statement ทย Research Objective ้าไ รค าPast Researches/Case Theoretical Review อก Stud y ห CC Determinants/Indicatorsัย T าลIdentification U ย y ed ิท Questionnaireb Survey rv าว t@ se ห h Analysis e ม rig r ิ์ y ts ธ p Figure 3.1: Researchh Flow ิท ส Co rig ิข l ล Al 61

ย ไท ค้า าร ก หอ C ัย TC าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

Source: Adapted from Tan and Pawitra (2001)

Figure 3.2: Conceptual framework of the study 62

3.1.1 Research Design Operationally, this research had been undertaken in two major phases,ย the first phase was observation and reviewing similar research conducted previously.ท The second phase is basically the collection of primary data through structured questionnaire.ไ The study has been structured as: ้า ค Location of study าร The study was conducted in Bagan. ก อ Population and Sample Size ห C Population: ัย C The average tourist inflow the pastล five years worked out to T2148864 tourists’ arrivals in a year as shown in figure 3.1. า U d ย y e ิท b rv าว t@ e ห h es ม ig r ิ์ yr ts ธ p h ิท o ig ส C r ิข ll ล A

Source: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Bagan, 2008 Figure 3.3: Number of Tourist arrivals in Bagan and corresponding revenue from Tourism (2001 to 2001-02 to 2005-06) 63

Sample Size: Yamane (1973) recommended the formula for random sample as below:ย n= N/ (1+Ne2) ไท where, n is size of sample, ้า N is population of sample, and รค e2 is probability of error. กา So, the sample size for the studyอ has been calculated according to the recommendation as follows: ห C n = 2148864 / {1+2148864 (0.05)2}ัย = 399.92T C าล ~ 400U Size of sample is 399.92ย ~ 400 respondents y ed Data collection b วิท rv Toา carry out this study, differentt@ methodologies wills ebe used to collect informationห and data. This incorporatesh collection of Primarye and Secondary data fromม various potential sourceigs. They are as follows: r ิ์ Primary data: r s ธ py ht ิท o In-deptho interview and discusgsion with the government officials of Ministry of ส HotelC and Tourism and someri of the private stakeholders of tourism industry ิข in Bagan. ll ล o Questionnaire surveyA and discussion with the tourists who are visiting in Myanmar in their satisfaction about traveling in Bagan, the main tourist destination in Myanmar.

Secondary data: 64

o Annual reports from Ministry of Hotel and Tourism, internet websites, and published literature and papers regarding with tourismย and Bagan archaeological site. ท For the purpose of the understanding the tourist perception้า of ไe-service quality, the questionnaire was made available at http://www.cs.ait.ac.th/~b105624/nge/รค [Questionnaire Web-link QW] which had its own set of online tourists.ก Thus,า the questionnaire data has been collected from QW. อ C In this research, primary data was collหected by questionnaireCs prepared in QW. 100 sets of answered questionnaires were receivedัย in online databaTse created for questionnaire าล U web- link between March toย April, 2008. The databasey created for the onlinee questionnairesd software had total of 1500ิท tourists. Email invitationsb were sent to the touristsrv to participate and answer the survey,ว but I received from@ only 100. e หา ht es g r ิ์ ม ri s 3.2ธ Questionnaire Design y t ิท op gh ส A survey schedule consisting ofr ai SERVQUAL and A Kano questionnaire was ิข C ll ล carried out. The purpose of theA SERVQUAL questionnaire was to measure satisfaction of tourist visiting Bagan as their holiday destination. The research questions are utilized to measure the tourism development in Bagan. A questionnaire with five-point Likert scale is applied to measure the international tourists’ satisfaction regarding with the attractiveness of the Bagan site and facilities and services in Bagan during their visit. 65

The questionnaire comprises three sections. The first section comprises the demographic and vacation behavior of the international tourists. Theท secondย section measures the interest of the travelers’ motivation to visit to Bagan้า site.ไ The third section measures the travelers’ perceptions on the facilities and servicesค throughout their stay in Bagan. Among them, in the second section of the questionnairาร e, respondents are asked to give the ranking on the attractiveness of Baganอ siteก by 5-points scale, ranging from 1 (least interesting) to 5 (most interesting) and theห third section of the CquestionnaireC designed to determine tourists’ overall satisfactionล ัยwith the facilities andT services on a 5-points scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree)า to 5 (strongly agree). U ย y ed 1 – Not at all Signifiิทcant/Not Important b rv 2 – To some extentว Significant/Some@ Importance e า ht s 3 ม– Reasonablyห significanit/Reasonablyg Important re ิ์ 4 – Largely Significant/Veryr Important s ธ py ht สิท 5 – Extremely oSignificant/Extremelyri Importantg ิข C ll ล A

3.3 Data Analysis

3.3.1 Hypothesis 66

H1a: Facilities is important of Stakeholder’s Management Capability significantly important to tourist attractiveness. ทย H1b: The higher the importance of the Stakeholder‘s Management้าไ Capability, the tourist’s wanting to visit Bagan would be. รค H2a: The destination image is significantly importantา to tourist attractiveness section. อก H2b: The destination image has a positiveห correction withC tourCist satisfaction. H3a: Facilities with each of ลimportantัย has positive correlationT with tourist attractiveness. า U ย y ed H3b: Festivities has positive relationship bwith tourist satisfactions. วิท rv H4a: Servicesา has a positive correlatt@ion with tourist attractiveness.se H4bห: Services has positive correctionh with tourist satisfactions.e ม rig r ธิ์ H5: Tourist attractivenessy is significantly importantts to tourist satisfaction. p h สิท H6: Tourist satisfactiono has positiveri relationshipg with tourist inflow. ิข This dataC analysis will be usedll to measure the aspects of tourism destination like ล attractiveness and quality level ofA experiences and quality of services. The different aspect of destination management process and activities are analyzed using qualitative approach as the data will be varied. The option “others (please specify)” will have the most variation in data. 67

All primary data collected through questionnaire will be transformed in the form of descriptive analysis concerning the factors of destination management.ท ยThis involves transforming the raw data in the questionnaire into tabular form้า ไwhich can be easily understood and interpreted which leads to descriptive informatคion. The tabulation of raw data will enable easy determination of frequency and arithmeticาร means. Empirical analysis based on frequency distribution and mean calculationอก will provide the expectation of the potential visitors. ห CC Cross tabulation of data willล beัย performed to organizeT data by groups (tourists and employees of tourism companาies) to facilitate comparis Uon and obtain jointd frequency distribution of observations ยon more than one set yof attributes. Computatione of mean and ิท b rv standard deviationา วof each attribute oft @each category and scomparinge with the same category of หanother group of respondentsh will help establishingre the relationship between the two group of respondents in casei gof common categories and common attributes. ิ์ ม yr ts ิท ธ Further regressionp analysis will performhed to see the co-relation between the two groups of respondents.o Establishment of co-religation between the groups will provide insight ส C l r ลิข between the expectation and deliveryl of experience and service quality. Regression analysis will be applied in eachA category of factors. Value for each category will be deduced as arithmetic mean of all the factors/attributes within each category. This will give us SWOT of Bagan. Based on the SWOT, strategies will be framed.

3.3.2 Statistics indicating the importance of factors The higher the score the more important are the variables as evaluationทย criteria. Six point scales were used to measure the importance of factors in้า suchไ a way that mean score could be calculated to determine the importance of factorค for Bagan. With five point scales, the intervals for breaking the rangeาร in measuring each variable are calculated as follows: อก ห CC Important Rank = Maximumล – Minimumัย / Level T = 6-1/5 า U d = 5/5ย y e ิท b rv า ว = 1 t@ se It means thatห the scores falling betweengh the following rangesre can be considered as: Importance Score 1.00i – 2.00 means Very Unimportant ิ์ ม yr ts ิทธ Importance Score p 2.01 – 3.00 meansh Unimportant Importance Scoreo 3.01 – 4.00 imeansg Fair ิขส C l r ล Importance Score 4.01A –l 5.00 means Important Importance Score 5.01 – 6.00 means Very Important Furthermore empirical evidence from the primary data analysis will be supplemented by the secondary data obtained from various sources including: (1) Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Yangon, Myanmar. 69

(2) Publications and Reports from MOHT and DHT, and etc. (3) ADB Web site, ADB reports ทย (4) United Nations World Tourism Organizations ้าไ (5) United Nations Environment Programmed รค (6) Business articles, magazines and news&า reports concerning with tourism development from international tourism organizationsก หอ C 3.4 Data Instrumentation ัย TC This research study is าfacilitatedล by the use ofU questionnaire for datad collection. Questionnaires are preparedย to collect data fromb suppliers’y as well as frome the customers. Separate set of questionnairesิท are being used for organizations thatr providev services and ว t@ e customers. หMostา of the customers areh short term visitors ande sothers are potential visitors. The attractiveness attribute is consideredg from visitors’ persr pective and competitiveness of ิ์ ม ri s theธ destination is considerpedy from suppliers’ side.h t ิท Analysis is done in Excel based on the primary data collected. This package is ส Co rig ิข used to have empirical results. Accordinglyll inferences are deduced to assist come up with ล policy recommendations. A 70

ย CHAPTER 4 ไท DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCHค RESULTS้า าร In this chapter, the discussion will be on theก analysis of results obtained through primary research, using SERVQUAL and Kano’sหอ questionnaires whichC had been designed based on the conceptual framework. C ลัย T 4.1 Data Reliability า U ย y ed A total of 1500ิท questionnaires were distributedb over a two-weekrv periods and 100 questionnaires wereว returned. Moreover, @also interviewed and discussede with government า ht s officialsม of Myanmar’sห Travel &i gTourism and two of the r preivate stakeholders of tourism industryิ์ such as Swe Myanmarr Travel and Tour Co.,s Ltd and Star Express Tours and ธ py ht ิทHotels in order to findo out both sides’ opinioing and the weakness for tourism development in ส Bagan. r ิข C ll ล In an attempt to receive A100% of the random population sample, i.e., 100 computed in chapter 3, 1500 questionnaires were distributed over one month period and 100 questionnaires were returned. Rate was high satisfactory. Furthermore, interviews and discussions were conducted with government officials from Ministry of Travel & Tourism, Myanmar Government along with two private stakeholders of tourism industry in Myanmar. 71

4.2 Tourism information of Bagan ย As seen in the table 4.1, tourist arrivals to Bagan, the ancient culturalท heritage site, increased in the past five years from 57,875 in 2001-2002 to over้า ไ74,000 in 2005-2006 except the fiscal year 2003-04. In 2003-04, the reason for รdecreasingค the tourist arrivals is attributable to fear of terrorist attack and SARs epidemicกา outbreak in South East Asia. This situation reflects the concerns regarding saอfety and security atC tourism destination. Adequate safety and security arrangementsัยห at destination of greaterC potential are essential for destination management. Proactiveล strategies for ensurTing safety for tourist are expected from tourists’ perspectives.า U ย y ed It is evident thatิท tourism earnings are increasingb significantly yearrv by year which are also benefited as aว multiplier effect by the@ local community ande country as a whole. In หา ht es 2005-06,ม the total receipt of foreignig exchange earning in rBagan was US $ 3.3 million with an increaseิ์ of 35.23 percent onr the previous year ass depicted in Figure 4.1. ธ py ht ิท ส Co rig l ลิข l A

Table 4.1 Number of tourist arrivals in Bagan and corresponding revenue from tourism (2001/02 - 2005/06 ) ทย Fiscal No. of Tourist Arrivals Growth (%) Tourism Receiptsไ Year ้า รUSค $ Growth (%) 2001-02 57,875 - กา 1,058,201 - 2002-03 78,907 36.34อ 2,030,570C 91.89 2003-04 64,347 ห -18.45 1,852,569 -8.77 ัย TC 2004-05 74,094 าล 15.14 U 2,466,901 33.16 2005-06 74,313 ย 0.30 y 3,336,082 e 35.23d ิท b v ว @ er หา ht es ig r ิ์ ม yr ts ธ p h ิท o ig ส r ิข C ll ล A

Source: Key format interviews (Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Bagan), 2008 Figure 4.1 Tourism receipts from Bagan 73

The tourist arrivals to Bagan, Europe region remains the major market accounted for 63.8% of the total arrivals followed by Asia with 20.6 percent and America,ทย 9.7 percent. These figures indicate that Europe and Asia are the major potentia้าlไ markets for the long term because they generate wealthy travelers whose mainค interest is culture (see the Figure 4.2). Managerial inference from the above figureา รcan be drawn from destination marketing perspectives. Bagan can be promotedอ inก Asia and Europe to attract more and more tourist from these regions. Asian countriesห are also gainingC significanceC in Myanmar tourism industry. The fact that Asianล people,ัย especially fromT China, Thailand and Japan, share cultural synergy with Myanmarา and Myanmar’s accessibilityU to Asian dpeople plays vital role in attracting Asian ยtourists. y e ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 74

ย ไท ค้า าร อก ห CC ัย T าล U d ิทย by ve ว @ er า ht s ห ig re ิ์ ม yr ts ิทธ p h ส Co rig ิข ll ล Source: Key format interviewsA (Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Bagan), 2008 Figure 4.2 Tourist Arrivals by region

4.3 Traveler demographics and trip characteristics ย The survey found that 55% of the tourists were from West Europe,ท 26% came from Asia and 9% from America. Visitors from the Oceania made up 5%้า ofไ the surveyed tourists and tourists from other parts of the country accounted for ร5% คof the tourists in the sample. The number of male visitors (61%) was higher than กfemaleา visitors (39%). It was interesting to note that many tourอists learned about BaCgan by the friends and relatives (43%); Internet sources or othersห media like guesthouses,C tour brochures from travel companies, etc. represented 15 ัย% each as source of informationT on Bagan and self- าล U readings accounted for 27%ย of destination informationy sources, respectively.ed This reflects that most of the informationิท flow regarding tourismb in Bagan is spreadrv through word-of- mouth. People tendว to visit Myanmar upon@ invitations from friendse and relatives. There is หา ht es strong มimperative that tourism icompaniesg can increase r number of visitors by adopting rigorousิ์ marketing and promotionr initiatives. Strategics alliances with reputed travel ธ py ht สิทmagazines, and onlineo tourism magazinesrig like Lonely Planet provides incentives to ิข increase internationalC tourist inflowsll to the country. Appointing agents abroad to do ล marketing is also seen as a feasibleA option to gain popularity in international arena. In regarding with the travel arrangement, 40% of visitors took packaged tours to Bagan and the other 60% made their own travel arrangement and travel independently in Bagan. The average length of stay in Bagan was 2 days. International tourists’ demographics and trip characteristics are summarized in Table 4.2. One face of this 76

summary shows that people feel secure to travel by themselves and explore Bagan. This fact shows that local people are trustworthy and hospitable. On the otherท ยhand this also indicates those travel organizers are not able to design attractive้าไ tour packages. Destination managers can collaborate with the travel agenciesค to design attractive tour packages ensuring customer experience and highา qualityร services involving local community. อก Table 4.2 Visitor demographics and trip characteristicsห CC Characteristics ัย Whole TSample (n = 100) 100% าล U Region (%) ย y ed - Asia ิท b 26 v ว @ er - West Europeห า ht es 55 - Americaม ig r 9 ิ์ r s 5 -ธ Oceania py ht ิท- Others 5 ส Co rig ิข Gender (%) ll ล - Male A 61 - Female 39 Information source (%) - By newspaper, magazine, etc. 27 77

- By internet 15 - By friends and relatives 43 ทย - By others ้า15ไ Travel Arrangement (%) ค -Package tour าร 40 -FIT อก 60 Average length of stay (days) ห C2C ัย T าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

Source: Online Survey from Bagan, April 2008

Figure 4.3 Tourist Arrivals by Region 78

ย ไท ค้า าร ก หอ C ัย TC าล U d ย by e Source:ิท Online Survey from Bagan, April 2008 rv าว t@ e Figure 4.4 Touristh Arrivals by Gender Groups ห ig re ิ์ ม r s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 79

ย ไท ค้า าร อก ห CC ลัย T า U d Source:ย Online Survey from Bagan,y April 2008 e ิท b rv ว Figure 4.5 Tourism@ Information e า ht s 4.4 Surveyม ofห tourists’ interest iratingg for attractions in Baganre ิ์ Bagan, known as ther city of four millions pagodas, is one of the richest ธ py ht สิทarchaeological sites oin South East Asia. rThieg Pagodas and Temples of Bagan dating back ิข more than 1500C years are of a splendorll rarely witnessed anywhere else in the world. ล Furthermore, the scene of thousandsA of ancient pagodas, each with its own character, scattered amongst the plains of Bagan will no doubt leave a lasting impression in the minds of all the international tourists who travel there. It is also very famous for its sunrise and sunset view over 2000 pagodas and temples. Therefore, sightseeing around in Bagan can give the travelers a great pleasure. 80

In Bagan, the travelers can buy souvenirs; copies of mural paintings like on plain sheet of cloth or on sand cloth and lacquerware at everywhere with a ทreasonableย prices. Most of the main temples and pagodas have stalls with displays of้า souvenirไ s and paintings. There are lacquerware manufacturing factories which haveค been producing the finest quality wares for decades. The exquisite works of the stepาร by step of making lacquerware can be seen, as a sight-seeing event for the อinternationalก tourists. Therefore, Bagan is a truly mesmerizing destination and can only หbe described as amazingC Cand enchanting for the travelers. ลัย T The investigation revealsา that most of the visitorsU consider tradition and culture. To ย y ed increase attractiveness ิทof Bagan as tourist destinbation, there is a needr vto promote tradition and culture. Historicalาว monuments are alsot@ main source of attractionse , which is one of the most importantห criteria for making gchoiceh to visit Bagan. Thisre also reflects the fact that there is increasingม trend among Asiarin tourist visiting Myanmar. Cultural coherence between ธิ์ y ts ิทChina, Thailand and ootherp countries in Asia gPacifich region and increasing per capita income ส in these countries can be boosting factorr fori increase number of Asian tourist to Myanmar. ิข C ll ล A

Table 4.3 Tourist attractions and tourists’ interest rating ย Attractions Least Little Moderate More ท Most interesting interesting interesting้าไ interesting Culture รค & custom 0% 0% 9%ก า 25% 66% Historical อ C monuments & 0% 1% ห 11% 20%C 68% archaeological ัย T าล U structure ย y ed Religion ิท b rv of Buddhism 0%ว 11% @ 22% 37%e 30% า ht s Shoppingม ห ig re (souvenir)ิ์ 13% r 27% 33%s 20% 7% ธ py t ิทScenic beauty 3% 1% h 12% 37% 47% ส Co rig ิข Environment ll ล of Bagan 5% A8% 22% 26% 39% Traditional food 9% 12% 28% 35% 16%

Table 4.3 reports the tourist interests ratings related with tourists attractions in Bagan. It was found that most of the tourists are very interested in Myanmarทย culture and customs and historical monuments and archaeological structure ้าin ไBagan because over 85% of the tourists give their response at the interesting levels.ค Moreover, the tourists also having the interest in Religion of Buddhism, Scenic Beauty,าร Environment of Bagan, and Traditional food because the percent of comments กover 50% of their responses are getting from interesting levels. อ C ัยห C For the shopping, the tourists’ล interest is normalT because the percentage of comments on interesting levelา was less than 30%.U Current trend in emphasis in ย y ed environmental protectionิท is being highlighted bin the output of the ranalysis.v Destination management strategiesาว should promotet@ environmental protecsetion strategies to gain international acclaim. Rather than shoppingh for souvenirs tourists would prefer to have first มห ig re hand ิ์ experience about they tradition,r culture and handicrafts.ts Original attractions are more importantธ than presentationsp with artificiality. h ิท o ig ส r ิข C ll ล 4.5. Tourists’ satisfaction ratingA for facilities in Bagan Regarding the facilities and services in Bagan for the travelers, having assumed that if 35 % of the respondent tourists give their comments at disagreement level, this factor can be interpreted as tourists are less satisfied with the facilities at Bagan, while if 83

their responses indicate less than 35% at the disagreement level; then the factor can be assumed as acceptable and also less than 20% at disagreement level canท beย regarded as tourists are satisfied with the facilities and services at. Bagan. ้าไ รค 4.5.1 Travel facilities in Bagan า ก There are a number of different modesห อof travel to Bagan. It Cis easily accessible by car, by flight, by train from Yangon. Fromัย Mandalay, tourists Tcan Cgo there by air, by boat or by car. In Myanmar, the princiาpleล means of transport U is road but for thed international tourists, Air is the mostิท commonย way to travel. Sob, mosty of the travelersv visitede to Bagan by domestic airlines. Forว the time being, there@ are only four domestic eairlinesr operate to Bagan in which oneห operatedา by the governmentht and the othere threes (Yangon Airways, Air Mandalay and Air Bagan) by privateg operators. All privater airlines are popular among ิ์ ม ri s touristsธ because of goodp ytrack record in termsh oft safety and easier ticket booking and ิทavailability of tickets. Till date, no international flights operate to Bagan landing at Nyaung ส Co rig ิข U Airport. Sometimes, charter flightsl lfrom overseas are being used to land at Nyaung U ล airport. A

There are regular Express Buses from Yangon to Bagan and Mandalay to Bagan and also Express Train from Yangon and Mandalay stops at Thazi junction. From this station, it is easily accessible to Bagan by three hours drive. There is also a rail service 84

from Yangon to Bagan which operates on alternate days and a regular train between Bagan and Mandalay. Traveling by train is not very comfortable and ทticketsย have to be bought days in advance. So, most of the tourists hardly use train้า ไto Bagan. Apart from these normal transportation modes, there is also a double-decคker steamer service between Mandalay and Bagan and the cruises. าร Unlike other three destinations such as กYangon, Mandalay and Inle Lake in อ C Myanmar, Bagan can offer different typesัยห of local transport suchC as tour by car, horse- carts, trishaws, bicycles, and charteredล small boats for visitorsT to sightseeing event in and around Bagan. า U ย y ed Table 4.4 Travel facilitiesิท and tourist satisfactionb rating v ว @ er Travel facilitiesหา Not ath all t To some Reasonables Largely Extremely Significantg extent ry Significan Significan ิ์ ม ri s ธ py Significantht significant t t ิท o g ส C ri ิข The domestic airline has ll ล enough seat for traveling 23%A 18% 16% 18% 12% to Bagan* The service quality of domestic 3% 4% 16% 47% 17% 85

airline is satisfactory* ย Transportation is ท convenient for traveling 15% 25% 28% ้าไ 24% 8% รค Note: *means 13 respondents were no answer among 100.า ก According to table 4.4, survey resultsห showอ that tourists expresCsed less satisfaction on the domestic airlines have enoughัย seats for traveling Tto CBagan and transportation services because they give theirา commentsล on disagrees U level for each of thed factors are over 35%. The peak seasonิทย is from November bto midy February becausev eBagan is located in a tropical zone. Inว this peak season, the@ domestic airlines are sometimeser not enough to get confirmedห seatsา for mass tourist harrivals.t The 13% of thee respondentss were no answer for the domestic airline because theyg travel to Bagan fromr Mandalay or Inle Lake by using ิ์ ม ri s roadธ or river transport insteadpy of air. However, hthe tservice quality of domestic airlines were ิทperceived as satisfactory because their responses on disagrees condition are less than ส Co rig ิข 20%. ll ล A

4.5.2 Facilities and services of hotels and restaurants in Bagan

Bagan has a variety of Hotels which consists of eight numbers are 4* Hotels and 30 numbers are 3* Hotels and 2* Hotels. Except from the 4* Hotels like Bagan Thiripyitsaya 86

Sakura, The Hotel@ Tharabar Gate, Kumudra Hotel, Bagan Thandwe Hotel, etc., some of the smaller hotels and guesthouses are of adequate standard for internationalทย tourists and provide services to meet the needs of the visitors to Bagan while most้าไ of the smaller hotels and guesthouses in Bagan are sometimes not very up to คdate in terms of the hotel’s atmosphere and infrastructure. าร There are plenty of restaurants which offerก local cuisine all around that are อ C inexpensive and value for money. Burmeseัยห food is a delight in BaganC though the travelers can also have Chinese, Europeaลn, as well as Indian cuisine.T For international cuisine, Sunset Garden, River View andา Si Thu restaurants are Ugood riverside restaurants. For a ย y ed Burmese or Chinese meal,ิท Nanda restaurant andb Eden BBB are popularrv with its traditional shows. Moreover,า theว best Thai dishest @can be found at thes Thiripyitsayae Sakura hotel. However, onlyห a few number of gtheh restaurants which havere an acceptable standard and hygieneม of services for the visitors.ri ธิ์ y ts ิท p h ส Co rig ิข ll ล A

Table 4.5 Tourist satisfaction rating on facilities and services of hotels and restaurants ย Facilities of Hotels, Not at all To some Reasonabl Largelyท Extremely services, restaurants Significan extent y ้าไSignificant Significant t Significant significantรค Bagan has adequate กา standard hotels for 10% 14% อ 40% C20% 16% travelers ห C The service qualities of ัย T าล U hotel is satisfactory ย3% 6% y 13% 45%e d 33% The standard andิท b r v hygiene of restaurantsว 12% @20% 35% e 22% 11% หา ht es are acceptableม ig r ิ์ r s ธ py ht ิท Table 4.5 illustrates that the tourist satisfaction ratings standard of hotels, service ส Co rig ิข quality of hotels, and the standard &l hygienel of restaurants in Bagan. It was found out that ล most of the tourists were satisfiedA with service quality of hotels because their comments at the disagreement level for this factor were less than 20%. The responses on the standard of hotels and hygiene and sanitation in restaurants given by the tourists at the disagree level were less than 35%. So, the tourists were acceptable to the standard of Bagan’s hotels and hygiene of restaurants. 88

4.5.3 Tourism Information ย All travelers to Myanmar are necessary to have a visa. Regardingท with the entry visa, it can be obtained at the Myanmar Embassies or Consulate in้า abrไoad. The visa fee is USD 20. In general, it takes about one week to get the visaรค at the Myanmar Embassies. There are two kinds of tourist visas. กา 1. Entry Visa tourist EVT (Package) & อ C 2. EVT (FIT-Foreign Independent Tourist).ห C ลัย T EVT (Package) –valid three montาhs from the date of Issue U and require a tourd confirmation letter from an authorized travelย agent of Myanmar. y e ิท b rv EVT (FIT) – validา วone month from thet @date of Issue but requiree no tour confirmation letter. Both visas have same status andh procedure on arrival at sYangon airport. ห ig re ม With a view to increaser tourist arrival, visa-on-arrival application is granted to all ธิ์ y ts ิทtourists who have boughtop a tour services gpriorh to their arrival. This special program is ส targeted to the countries and cities whereri there is no Myanmar Embassy or any other ิข C ll ล mission abroad. Tourists comingA to Myanmar can now apply visa online go to the internet website: www.myanmarvisa.com and fill in a secured form to submit application. Processing time is normally two weeks.

Moreover, the check points have been opened along Myanmar-Yunnan (China) and Myanmar-Thai borders to allow tourists from third countries. However, Border entry also 89

needs to get permission if the tourists will fly out from Yangon or go out from other border entry. If the visitors will enter and return for same entry that is notท necessaryย to get permission but can visit limited area only from China and Thailand ้าup ไto Kyaingtong. Until August 2003, it is necessary to change 200ร USDค into equivalent 200 FECs (Foreign Exchange Certificates) compulsorily. But, noาw government relaxes it and all travelers do not need to change FEC 200 regardlessก of Package or FIT visa upon arrival in อ C the country. ห C Regarding with tourist information,ัย the tourism departmenT t in Myanmar is still not าล U rigorously involved in promotingย Bagan to outside worldy with famous temples,e dpagodas and other religious building,ิท insufficient distribution ofb free promotional brochures,rv flyers, travel magazines, pamphletsว and up-load at Internet,@ Website, to create awarenesse about Bagan. า ht es ห g r ิ์ ม ri s ธ y t ิท op gh ส ri ิข C ll ล A

Table 4.6 Tourism information and Tourist satisfaction rating Reasonably ย Tourism Information Not at all To some Largelyท Extremely Significant extent significant้า ไSignificant Significant Significant รค Applying entry visa is 11% 10% กา 35% 23% 21% easy อ C Moving through customs ห C and immigration is 6% ัย 4% 16%T 40% 34% าล U satisfactory ย y ed Tourism department ิท b rv has published sufficientว 26% @34% 20% e 12% 8% หา ht es travel informationม ig r ิ์ r s ธ py ht ิท In table (4.6), the survey results showed that the tourists were acceptable for ส Co rig ิข applying entry visa because the percentagell of their comments on disagrees level for this ล factor were less than 35%. TheA tourists were satisfied on moving through customs and immigration, due to less than 20% of their comments at the disagree level. However, tourists were less satisfied with the travel information provided by the tourism development because their rating on disagree level were more than 35% for tourism information. 91

4.5.4 Facilities of Communication in Bagan ย For the travelers, online booking can only to get access with Internationalท Hotels and Domestic Airlines such as Air Mandalay, Air Bagan, and Yangon้าไ Airways from their country. However, the travelers still cannot generally useร onlineค booking for hotels and domestic airline. More often than not they use e-mailก าfor hotels, domestic airline booking directly or through travel agency. Online serviceอ is still incompetent forC travel and tourism in Myanmar including Bagan because (1)ัย creditห cards are not acceptableC to hotels and other service providers (2) local staff areล not used to with informationT technology (3) inadequate telecommunication infrastructureา is not available. U ย y ed For the travel agents/operatิท ors in Myanmar,b they are at a disadvantagerv with regard to the use of modernว technology compared@ with their counterpartse in developed countries หา ht es becauseม of poor information netigwork infrastructure and rthe shortage of professionals to manage,ิ์ operate and maintainr the system. Therefore,s it still has some problems in using ธ py ht สิทonline system for touro operators to sell theirri gproducts to potential travelers. Only a few tour ิข operators use ICTC at present and lmostl of them usually use e-mail and fax rather than ล online for selling their products toA potential travel. Bagan don’t have a road side phone. The international calls can be made only from the Telephone Office which is located in Nyaung U on the New Bagan Road and Hotels in Bagan. The overseas communication is sometimes difficult and the international phone 92

calls are too expensive comparing with other countries. The access to the Internet is also very expensive and only limited e-mail service is available for the internationalทย tourists. Most of the people in Bagan are fluent in English and this้า allowsไ the international tourist to directly communicate with them. Moreover, the รpeopleค in Bagan look upon the visitors with hospitality, and warm smiles spread over allา of their faces. Table 4.7 Facilities of Communication in Bagan andก tourist satisfaction rating หอ C Facilities of Not at all ัยTo some ReasonablyC Largely Extremely Communication Significantล extent significantT Significant Significant า Significant U d Online booking service ย y e ิท b v for hotels, domesticว 12% @24% 17% er 9% 12% airlines is convenientา t s ห gh re Telecommunicationิ์ ม ri service in Bagan is y 42% 36% ts 16% 6% 0% ิทธ p h ส satisfactory Co rig ิข Good communication ll ล with local people 3%A 3% 17% 42% 35% Note: 26 respondents did not provide answer among 100 respondents.

As indicated in the table 4.7, online booking services for hotels and domestic airline and telecommunications were perceived less satisfactory by the tourists because the 93

tourists give their response on the disagrees level were over 35%. However, the tourists were satisfied with communication with local people because the percentageทย of their comments at disagree level are less than 20%. ้าไ รค 4.5.5 Other facilities in Bagan า ก Being a Buddhist Region, crime ratesห อin Bagan, especially Ctoward foreigners, are lower than those of the many other ัยcountries in the regionT. CAs a result of economic sanctions by the US Governmeาnt,ล all credit cards (includi Ung traveler’s cheques)d are not accepted for settle anyิท monetaryย transactions andb yalso ATM machinesv aree nonexistent in Bagan. This makes วthe visitors a little bit difficult@ because of bringinge rsufficient hard cash to cover their หexpensesา on all travel around.ht The travelers cane schange USD or FECs with locals, or they can use them to payg for hotels. If the touristsr need local currency (Kyat) for ิ์ ม ri s foodธ or transport, everyonepy can change their moneyht through the black market especially at ิทmost of the guesthouseso without having any gproblems. ส C ri ิข Western-style nightlife is non-existentll in Bagan due to a Buddhist region while ล some of the hotels and riversideA restaurants provide the traditional entertainment such as puppet show, traditional music and dance, etc in the evening.

Table 4.8 others facilities and tourist satisfaction rating Other facilities Not at all To some Reasonably Largelyย Extremely Significant extent Significant Significantไท Significant Significant ้า ร ค Good security & 3% 2% กา16% 46% 33% safety อ C Having convenience ห C to exchange currency 12% ัย 21% 37%T 19% 11% าล U during visit ย y ed There is enjoyableิท b rv entertainment วin 12% @15% 36% e 25% 12% า ht s Baganม ห ig re ิ์ r s ธ py ht ิท In table (4.8), it was interesting to note that most of the tourists are satisfied with ส Co rig ิข security and safety in Bagan becausell the percent of comments for this factor at the ล disagree level by the visitors wereA less than 20%. According to exchange currency and the entertainment in Bagan, the tourists were perceived as acceptable because the respondents give their responses at the disagree level were less than 35%.

4.6 SWOT Analysis of Bagan ย Based on the response from the tourist and interview with governmentท officials and employees of tourism companies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities้าไ and threats are identified. This enables managers to formulation strategiesรค and action plans for development and management of Bagan as กan าattractive and competitive tourist destination. อ C Table 4.9 SWOT analysis of Bagan ห ัย TC Strength -Knownาล as “the city of four millionU pagodas”, one dof the richest ยarchaeological sites iny South East Asia. e ิท b rv ว -Known as the@ Birthplace of Myanmar eCivilization. หา ht es -Havingg unique collection of religiousr buildings which are lasted ิ์ ม ri s ธ pyfor thousand years.h t ิท o ig ิขส C - The 42 lsq rkm area of Bagan contains over 2000 edifices, the ล well-preservedAl pagodas and temples representing the rich cultural heritage of the 11th - 13th century.

-A great place for observing the process of traditional lacquer ware, one of Myanmar’s best-known handicrafts. 96

-Hospitality of local people. ย -One of the Buddhist Region, so crime is ไat ทvery low level. Weakness -Poor quality of communication infrastructure.้า รค - Limited number of Domesticา Airlines and seat capacity. ก -Limited number ofอ international standardC hotels and hygienic restaurants whichห are suitable for tourists.C ลัย T - Shortageา of qualified guidesU in peak season. ย y ed Opportunities ิท -Bagan can still be bone of the attractive rplacesv in Myanmar to ว be a popular@ and crowed for the visitors.e า ht es ห -Contributesg more businessesr and better quality of life for local ิ์ ม ri s ธ pypeople from the tourismht development in that area. ิทThreats -Most of the local people in and around Bagan-Nyaung U are ส Co rig ิข totally dependentl on tourism industry. ล Al -Loss to local customs and traditional cultures.

-Environmental pollution due to mass tourist arrivals.

4.7 Interview with the government official of Myanmar’s Hotels & Tourism and Two Private stakeholders of tourism industry ทย An interview has been made with the government officials้า ofไ Myanmar’s Hotels & Tourism and two private stakeholders of tourism industry inร orderค to get both sides’ opinion regarding with the destination of tourism industry in กBagan.า The questions that were asked to them are as follows:อ C 1. What are the major problems for tourismห destination in Bagan?C ลัย T 2. How to overcome the problemsา for attracting more U tourist arrivals to dBagan in the future? ย y e ิท b rv ว @ e า ht s มห ig re ิ์ r s ธ py ht ิท ส Co rig ิข l ล Al

Table 4.10 Interview with the government official of MHT and two private stakeholders for the development of tourism in Bagan ทย List of Participants Problems Ways to overcome้าไ the problems Government official -Weakness in transportation -Upgradingรค the transportation of Myanmar’s Travel facilities, and communicationก าfacilities by expanding Express and Tourism infrastructure. อ Bus, Trains, Cmore frequency of ห DomesticC Airlines and better ัย telecommunicationT services. าล U ย y ed ิท-Insufficient tourism b -Improve Promotion,rv Advertising, ว promotion and advertising@ to Distributione of CDs, and า ht s มห outside iworldg with tourist pamphlets,re etc. and up-load at ิ์ attractionsr of Bagan’s s Internet, Website about Bagan by ธ py ht ิท o monuments. ig MHT and Private Travel Agents / ส r Operators to get more awareness ิข C ll ล A about Bagan archaeological sites.

-Upgrading the standard of existing -Limited number of hotel hotels and promoting the accommodation and good cleanliness and good hygiene 99

hygiene restaurants. restaurants. ย Star Express Tours -Weakness in tourism - Improving tourismไท enterprises and Hotels promotion from local involvementค้า in tourism promotion industry. าandร advertising for trying to make ก more people who loved travel หอ knows aboutC Myanmar so that ัย theyT willC know about Bagan. าล U d - Hotelsย deficiency and by - The governmentv eshould set up ิทshortage in domestic flights clear rules andr regulations and าว t@ e ห during the tourh seasons. providinges investment incentive for ig promotingr private sector and ิ์ ม yr ts ธ p h foreign investment in Hotels ิท o ig industry and domestic Airlines. ิขส C l r ล Al 100

Swe Myanmar -Funding from tourism -Government should provide Travel and Tour marketing is insufficient. sufficient funds ทfor improvingย Co.,Ltd. tourism marketing้าไ ค -Weakness in promotional า-Providingร more promotional for activities and poor Myanmarอก Bagan site through travel show media in reaching หthe world- world-wideC andC more published wide interest.ล ัย travelT magazines, guide books, า Upictorials and distributedd them ย y worldwide throughe Myanmar ิท b rv าว t@ Embassiese in abroad. -Inadequate transporth - The governments should ห ig re ิ์ ม facilitiesr s encourage private sector ธ y t involvement in development of ิท op gh ส C ri country’s transport facilities. ิข l ล Al As a result, these interviews show us that there are still some problems for the destination of tourism in Bagan. To overcome these problems, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism could play a direct role by promotion information communication technologies, providing more tourism promotional programmers to make more people who loved travel 101

knows about Bagan archaeological sites, increasing the local investors and foreign investors in hotel and tourism industry to overcome the hotels deficiency,ท andย inadequate transportation facilities during the tour seasons. After that we can้าไ develop the tourism destination industry in Bagan in the future. ค าร ก หอ C ัย TC าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 103

ย CHAPTER 5 ไท CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONSค้า าร This chapter constitutes 4 parts. Part 1 อmentionsก about the conclusion of the research, part 2 are recommendations, partห 3 analyzes about the limitaCtion of the research and part 4 is about future research. ัย C ล UT า d ิทย by ve 5.1 Conclusion ว @ er Indigenousา tourism has recently beent acknowledged ass a potential and fast growing ห gh re segmentิ์ ม of the tourism industry.ri In line with this proce ss, the local culture, history, and nature are often seen as popuy lar and, indeed, well-soldts products. Examples from tourism ิทธ p h ส industry suggestC theo complex constructsr ofi gculture, history, and nature can be effectively ิข incorporated in tourist destination brandingll process and help to create and market the ล unique image of a destination Aon the marketplace. In its turn, a strong and distinctive destination brand positively affects an inflow of tourists, contributing to the overall wealth of the region. The present study attempts to explore how the constructs of culture, history, and nature can be incorporated in the process of branding a tourist destination. Perceptions 103

by the tourists and interpretation of destination also play an important in promoting tourist destinations abroad. ทย This research study has been led to provide the better understanding้าไ on Bagan, a historic town in Myanmar which is famous for the overwhelmingค number of temples, stapes and other religious buildings dating back to 11th to า13thร century’s era. For Myanmar, tourism sector can be an important industry to อgenerateก foreign exchange earnings and for creating more jobs for the local communityห to alleviate poverty.C BagCan is one of the key destinations in Myanmar and a primaryลัย tourist attraction. ThTe ancient temples of Bagan stand today as they have been าstanding for a thousand Uyears ago. This attractsd significant number of foreign travelers ยto visit there. y e ิท b rv However,า comparingว with Angkort @Wat in Cambodia, thes touriste arrivals to Bagan is relatively veryห low. Therefore, in orderh to develop sustainablere tourism industry in Bagan, the country needs to develop marketinigg and promotional activities aimed at attracting visitors ิ์ ม yr ts ิทfromธ West Europe, Americap and Asian region. hPromotion of Bagan to international tourism should not be accruedo out at the cost of loosingig traditions and culture. Essentially strategies ส C l r ลิข should focus on preservation of historical,l archaeological and religious monuments, and improve basic tourism services.A The findings of this study can be reviewed and implemented by different stakeholders of tourism industry in Bagan to improve tourism services and facilities and provide more attractiveness for international tourists eventually leading to increased number of international tourist to Bagan. To increase the 104

attractiveness and competitiveness of a tourist destination, it is essential that all allied businesses are developed in parallel. For a destination to compete, it hasท toย be attractive as an ecosystem. In tourism industry, more than firms’ destination้า competes.ไ Destination in combination with other facilities, better termed as Destinationค Ecosystem, can create big competitive advantage for tourism industry in any country.า ร This study found that the internationalอ touristsก were satisfied with Bagan as an interesting, unique, and safe destination, หwhich offers over 2000 well-pCreserved pagodas th th C and temples of the 11 to 13 centuryลัย with diversity of desiTgn, warm hospitability of the local people, and scenic beauty.า They were generally Usatisfied with hospitalityd services, local people attitude and ยlocal food. However, theyy were critical aboute other tourism ิท b rv facilities such asา domesticว airlines havet no@t enough to get confirmedse seat, online booking service is notห too easy, transportation,h tourism information,r ande telecommunication facilities. Overall, Bagan has a high potentiaigl in growing tourism sector because of its richest cultural ิ์ ม yr ts ิทheritage,ธ friendly local ppeople and scenic beautyh yet it is impeded by the weakness in tourism transportationo infrastructure, too iexpensiveg for telephone services and internet ส C l r ลิข access, limited number of hotels andl restaurants for increasing international tourist arrivals. Therefore, this research studyA has analyzed some of the factors regarding with the attractiveness of the Bagan site and facilities & services in Bagan, including introducing cheaper international calls that would enable to develop the tourism in Bagan in the near 105

future. The future action plan for Bagan to should revolve around the following model towards building Bagan as branded tourism destination covering attributesท of ยattractiveness. ้าไ Cultural dimensions: ค Historical Dimension: Culture, tradition, ร Architecture, people, etc า monuments, heritage, etc Attractivenessก of Bagan หอ C Service Dimension: C Hotels, transportation, ัย TNature dimensions: Airlines, information, etc าล U Environment, natural, etc ย y ed ิท b rv าวFigure 5.1 Model tfor@ Attractiveness of Baganse ห h re The proposed tourist destinationig model incorporates regional culture, history, ิ์ ม yr ts ิทservicesธ and nature dimensions,p which should hwork synergistically to create an attractive, competitive and uniqueo destination, i.e., theig brand name of a destination. Here, ‘tourist ส C l r ลิข destination’ is seen as a structure lcomprised by cultural, historical, and nature branding dimensions. These dimensionsA are formations of local traditions, geographic location, landscape features, etc., and represent the unique traits characterising and differentiating a tourist destination. These dimensions can, therefore, be used all together as well as separately, as a basis for creating and maintaining a tourist destination. For a brand name 106

to be a successful differentiator of the destination on the tourist market, it should focus on the attractive and easily connectable to the destination characteristics inherentทย in regional culture, history, and/or nature. To make Bagan attractiveness, it is ้าimperativeไ that strategies are focused to keep the originality of tradition and culture reflecคted in historical monuments, local community people life styles. Tourism being serviceาร oriented industry, essentially, maintaining state-of-the-art service quality one อof theก most prominent criteria for tourists to select a particular destination. ห CC ลัย T 5.2 Recommendations า U d The results of the ยsurvey are to help increasey tourists popularity eto Bagan and to ิท b rv bring forth the beautyาว of this ancient city.t To@ attract more foreigns visitorse to the country and to meet touristห satisfaction withg theh attractions, servicesre and facilities, based on the framework in previous section, ithe following recommendations would be like a mirror for ิ์ ม yr ts ิทgovernmentธ as well as thep private stakeholders hof tourism industry to improve their planning for the further developmo ent of sustainablei tourismg in Bagan. Formulation of strategies for ิขส C l r ล Bagan can revolve around the recommendation.Al The following steps are advised to follow, when determining the possible attractiveness, competitiveness and branding dimensions: 1. Search for and identify the critical assets and unique characteristics of a tourist destination within each of the proposed attractiveness, competitiveness and branding constructs of culture, history and nature; 107

2. Review the emerged list of dimensions and pick the most critical ones in terms of marketing and promotional activities i.e., those with a greater ทpotentialย to attract tourists, or very unusual ones and thus having greater possibilities้าไ to be clearly connected to the interpretation of a destination; ค 3. Incorporate the selected dimensions into a proposedาร model to check whether they depict the destination in a way that canอ createก a clear and attractive picture in a mind of a potential tourist; ห CC 4. Look what can be improvedล i.e.ัย what characteristics ofT the destination management constructs can be addedา or removed to achieve aU synergic-effect; d 5. Concentrate on theย regional image buildingy dimensions, whene defining the ิท b rv destinationา brandว and/or designintg@ marketing/promotion strategy.e 6. To successfully realize theh importance of above smodel and build branded ห ig re ิ์ มdestination cooperationr between both governmes nt and private sector is essential. ธ International connectivityy can be best achievedt through government support. ิท op gh ส C ri ิข 5.2.1 Role of Government l ล Al Given the fact that government has significant role in developing tourism industry, government should take detrimental initiatives to foster tourism in the country. Out of many significant roles to be played by the government, following are worth mentioning: 108

1. Ease entry regulations – Having stringent entry regulations can have deterring impact on growth of tourism industry. Therefore governmentท canย relax entry regulations to increase the inflow of international tourists. ้าไ 2. Ease visa processing and custom regulation – Complexค visa regulations can be simplified to attract foreign traveler. าร 3. Devise national tourism development planอ –ก Having proactive tourism development plan at national level definitely enablesห other stakeholdersC toC act accordingly within the framework of national plan.ล ัย T 4. Promote entrepreneurshipา in tourism sector – Growing U number of entrepreneursd can bring about competitionย eventually leading toy better services and innovationse in the ิท b rv industry. าว t@ se 5. Maintainห safety and security hof tourism destinationr –e One of the main concerns for the tourists is safety andig security. Government has enormous responsibility in ิ์ ม yr ts ิทธ ensuring safety andp security. h 6. Establish healthcareo facilities at tourismig destination ส C l r ลิข 7. Ensure trustworthy informationl dissemination; 8. Design national level tourismA promotion schemes.

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5.2.2 Strategies Not only the government but also private sector should knowท baganย as a very interesting tourist attraction destination internationally. This strategy้า shouldไ involve: 1. Historical Value รค Bagan is famous for the historical values that theา religious locations provide. People have a helpful nature but the touristsอ กmay have problems communicating extensively with local people. However,ห communication withC stCakeholders would not be a problem. With good foodล,ัย clean restaurants andT luxurious hotels scattered all around Bagan, the touristsา would very well enjoyU the traditional and international ย y ed cuisine and the ิทoverwhelming natural beautyb the sites present.r v าว t@ se 2. Main Strategy. h มห ig re It ิ์ should be easy for they touristsr to get informationts about the tourist destinations along ธ with the various pattractions that are to beh sought for. This can be ralised with ample ิท o ig ิขส advertisementsC with enoughl detailsr for making travels for tourists easy and ล enjoyable. Al Better communication facilities, fast internet access, can be outlined as a necessary service for tourists.

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5.2.3 Infrastructures International access to the country by air, road and river need toท beย improved( for example, extending long haul flights especially from major markets,้าไ airline strategic alliances with international flights). The existing generallyร goodค maintenance of temples, stupas and other religious buildings should be continued.า อก 1. Recommendation to improve Poor Telecommunication InfrastructureC ัยห C Currently poor telecommunicationล infrastructuresT in terms of limited internet accessible, difficulty of internationalา dialing and unavailabilityU of mobile phone cause ย y ed inconvenience international tourists. Therefore,b firstly, it should be made available วิท rv widely use าof all internet facilitiest @without restriction insidese the country and the government should encourage privateh companies to establish more internet café shops ห ig re not มonly in the cities but alsor in the country sides. After that, it is advisable that the ธิ์ y ts ิท government shouldo pjoin with neighboringg counthries such as Thailand to upgrade current ส telecommunication infrastructure andr improvi e the telecommunication services. In the ิข C ll ล second, the ministry of MyanAmar Post and Telecommunications should engage in joint venture with other neighboring country which is already developed in Telecommunication infrastructure (e.g. Thailand) to develop prepaid SIM card facility, or should give private companies to perform that kind of project rather than monopolized so that international visitors can use their mobile phone inside the country by inserting 111

that prepaid SIM card. Finally, the government should afford to upgrade the whole country telecommunication infrastructure to be international standard.ทย At the point, budget needed for upgrading will be very high. Therefore, government้าไ needs to have Foreign Direct Investment or the government needs toค have support from other developed countries or NGOs. Also, for this project,า governmentร can do joint venture or contract BOT project with other local companyอ orก JV company or foreign company. 2. Recommendation regarding unavailabiliห ty of banking andC moneyC exchange To be satisfied touristล destinationัย country, theT country should give visitors to ease in every aspect duringา their staying period U in the country whichd comprise exchanging money is oneย of the important issues.y Currently, there is noe official currency ิท b rv exchange centersาว and official currencyt@ exchange rate in Myanmarse and there are only three stateห banks, the Myanmarg hForeign Trade Bank r(MFTB),e the Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB)i and the Myanmar Economic Bank (MEB) are allowed to ิ์ ม yr ts ิทธdeal with foreign exchangep transactions. In hpractice the MFTB and MICB handle most of these transactions.o The MFTB mainlyig handles foreign currency transactions of ิขส C l r ล government organizations, businesses,Al and individuals, and the MICB caters primarily to companies and joint ventures. MEB handles foreign currency transactions in border trade regions. However, as of sanction from some countries, these three banks are frozen since 2002.

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Besides, there is no traveler's cheque (also traveller's cheque, traveler's check, or travelers cheque), credit card facility and ATM card facility. Therefore,ท theย visitors who are interested to visit Myanmar should bring cash notes rather้า thไan just one card and have to exchange the money at black market or by hotel/ค guide arrangement with inconsistent exchange rate. Thus, it should be advisableาร to the government that for the first stage, the government should set ofอficialก currency exchange rate and develop official currency exchange centers in theห tourist attraction placesC andC at the international airport. After that, the governmentลัย should afford to developT credit card facility and traveler’s cheque by negotiatาing with neighboring countryU so that the visitorsd do not need to carry a lot of notesย along with them andy can exchange the moneye with reliable ิท b rv rate at officialา centers.ว t@ se ห gh re 3. Recommendation for otheri infrastructure barriers ิ์ ม yr ts ธ Accordingp to the findings from hprevious chapter- Lack of Hygiene, a few ิท o ig ิขส services of EntertainingC Facility andl impror per tourist information centers are the second ล most important barriers facedAl in tourism industry. For the Hygiene, importantly improving hygienic toilet facilities at almost all bus terminals, airports, and restaurants should be performed. Also, trash along the road in country sides and cultural tourist sites should be cleaned by local concerned. 113

For entertainment facility, currently Myanmar Dancing and Marionette shows are very famous among the visitors; however it can be accessed atท big ยhotels in cities and some big hotels in some tourist attraction places only. Therefore,้าไ it should be made available in more other places rather than in Hotel only. Inค addition, for those dancing programs, the stories background needed to beา explainedร before performing and entertaining and also entertaining operators’อ languageก skills have to be improved. As Myanmar has such rich culture, I do notห want to recommendC toC perform westernized entertaining activities, I do wantล ัยto recommend the goveTrnment to improve current cultural way of entertainingา facilities and encourage U the local people dto make the evening market, night marketย in some tourist attractiony places and createe localized -not ิท b rv modernized andาว westernized- night lifet@ at some tour attractions ebeaches. ห However, improving theh entertaining industryre alone does not work out since tourism industry and all otheri gsectors are correlating each another, therefore, to get the ิ์ ม yr ts ิทธfull beauties of nightp life, the first priority hto improve is making available Electricity throughout the yearo all over the country.ig Thus, all the entertaining facility equipments ส C l r ลิข can be used fully and the nightl life in the beaches and some other tourist attraction places will be pleased for internationalA visitors. For tourist information centre, the government should create prominent Tourist Information Booth at all three International Airport and make available Tourist Information Center in major tourist attraction places to provide the international visitors 114

with the information of where to accommodate?, Where to eat?, Where to go?, How to communicate with local people? . ย ไท 5.2.4 Services ้า ค 1. Recommendation for availability of Visa on Arrivalาร service In the present, there is pre arrangedก visa service in Myanmar; however, it cannot fully guarantee that the visaห will อbe got in time or not Cfor tour operators who are arranging for their customัยers’ visit to Myanmar.T AdCdition, the government is targeting the tour arrivalsา toล one million, therefore, U to reach the targetedd aim, the government should ยafford to give the VOA servicey at Airport. To givee VOA service, firstly the governmentิท need to imprbove current immigrationv and custom ว @ er infrastructureา and system ath thet airport and in theses activities there should be involvedห three main ministriesg such as Ministry of rImmigre ation& population, Ministry ิ์ ม ri s ธ of Foreign Affairp andy Ministry of Hotel handt Tourism could be played in main role. ิท Then, it is advisable to improve current IT system at Immigration to be standard one ส Co rig ิข where can conduct VOA facility.ll ล 2. Recommendation to beA better Air Port Service It goes without denying that the image of the country in terms of Tourism is Gateway to the country- International Airport. Therefore, the government should maintain Airport as international standard one and the services in Airport also should be improved by well training the staffs who work for the Airport in terms of 115

language skills and service skills. Wasting time with waiting to get luggage bags by visitors should be also reduced. At that point, Electricity availableท ยand IT system relied are playing main role. ้าไ รค 5.2.5 Role of all stakeholders กา Other actionable recommendations include: หอ C 1. The monuments and old templesัย maintained well likeT in Ctheir original state; but not look like new ones. Moreoverาล, also require greater U protection of frescoesd in the temple walls, doิท notย over paint the wall-pabyintings and restorev theme like as new. Being a religiousว ground, keep out@ the souvenir shops frome thre pagodas and set up a placeห าonly for souvenir standsht around Nyaung eU market,s Myinkaba and New Bagan. Otherwise, limit theg number of souvenir rshops at pagodas because too ิ์ ม ri s ธ many shops andp souveniry people can hgivet a negative shopping experience and ิท sometimes it causes distraction from the enjoyment of visiting/learning for the ส Co rig ิข travelers. Also maintaining thell Nyaung U – Bagan Road by limiting the speed of the ล large tourist coaches andA buses may be necessary because it is the main road that visitors can arrange their sightseeing in Bagan by ox carts, horse carts, walking and cycling. 116

2. Making Airline Strategic alliances with international flights to add direct flights from Singapore and Bangkok which are the transit hubs to Baganท duringย the tourist season; and providing more frequency of present domestic้าไ airlines which are operated by Myanmar Airways, Yangon Airways, Yangonค Airways, Air Mandalay and Air Bagan to make travel easier during the tourาร season. 3. Upgrading information communication techกnologies also including introducing อ C cheaper international calls andัย internetห access; and encouragingC more hotels and tourism enterprises involvemลent in the actual use ofT information technologies and information networks to าpromote for the developmentU of tourism industry. ย y ed 4. Providing sufficient funds to conduct advebrtising, more promotional programmers at วิท rv internationalา Trade Fairs, more tpublishe@ d travel magazines,se guide books, maps, pictorialsห and distributed themh worldwide through Myanme ar Embassies in abroad ม rig r ธิ์ and up-load at Internet,y Website to get morets awareness about Bagan’s historical ิท monuments for thep travelers from differenth countries. ส Co rig ิข 5. The recommendations for lthel private Stakeholders of tourism industry are as ล follows: A 6. The travel and tour enterprises need to make greater use of the internet to market Bagan as a travel destination. They need to update frequently their websites with fresh information for travelers to give more interest in Bagan. 117

7. Everyone who provides the services for tourism industry such as tour operator, hotel industry, transportation provider, etc. should invest a percentageทย of profit or turnover in species conservation and restoration the historical้าไ monuments, and make a commitment to the protection and care of theร environment.ค 8. Doing more attractive local products by usingา good quality raw materials and introducing better technology as internationalก standardized souvenirs. อ C The main aim of any strategy formulatiหon of destination Cmanagement should focus on leveraging on strength the managementัย should overcomeT the weaknesses and covert าล U the threats into opportunities.ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ e 5.3 Limitationห of the Study h es It is important to criticallyig evaluate the results andr the whole study. The present ิ์ ม yr ts studyธ has certain limitationp that need to be takenh into account when considering the study ิทand its contributions.o Though it reveals severalg interesting findings and recommendations, ส C ri ิข there are certain limitation that arel addressed,l which are mainly can be seen as fruitful ล avenues for future research Aunder the theme. The study has focused only those respondents that visit Bagan during the month March to April, 2008 since the schedule of our program is designed such that it data collection only those seasons, may not necessarily reflect the entire perceptions of the tourist visiting Bagan. The destination 118

management is base only on those service attributes, namely, recreation and attraction, transportation services, accommodation services, guide services, foodท ยservices, and shopping facilities. So the recommendations are exclusively based้า onlyไ on these indentified attributes as discussed. ค าร 5.4 Direction for the future of research อก This study being conducted under timeห constrain, leaves Cthe scopeC for further verification under longer duration toล makeัย it more exhaustive.T Identification of barriers and enablers for destination developmentา and management andU further modeling thesed factors is an option left open. This typeย of empirical study cany be extended to includee other ิท b rv prominent destinationsาว in Bagan is a feasibility.t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 119

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Urry, J. (2001), “The tourist gaze (2nd Ed)”, London: Sage. Yuksel, A. (2004), “Shopping experience evaluation: A case ทof domesticย and international visitors”, Tourism Management, 24:751-764. ้าไ Yu, L. and Goulden, M. (2006), “A comparative analysisรค of international tourists’ satisfaction in Mongolia” Tourism Management,ก 27:า 1331-1342. Bagan, Myanmar, http://www.ancientbagan.com/อ C Bagan (Pagan): http://myanmartravelinformation.com/index-bagan.htmห ัย TC Bagan Sightseeing: http://www.ancientbagan.com/bagan-monuments.htmาล U Environment of Bagan: http://www.myanmarmtetours.com/bagan.htmย y ed International Journal of ิทTourism Research, b rv าว t@ e http://as.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WhileyTitle/productCd-JTR.htmls ห ig re Interestingิ์ ม Places if Bagan, r s ธ py ht ิท http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-bagan/bagan- ส Co rig ิข places.htm#Old_Bagan ll ล Multilingual Matters and ChannelA View Publications, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jtc

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Official Publication of the Asia Pacific Tourism Research Association, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, http://www.hotel-online.com/Neo/Trends/AsiaPacificJournalทย ้าไ Objectives of Myanmar Hotel and Tourism Law: รค http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Perspective/persp1997/11-97/pil11-97.htmกา Sustainable Tourism (WTO, 2004): http://www.uneptie.org/pcอ /tourism/sust-tourismC The Tourism Network’s Introductory Guidหe to UK Tourism,C the tourism network, http://www.tourismnetwork.org/Tourisัยm_Network_Intro_GuTide_to_Tourism.pdf าล U d World Tourism Organization:ย http://www.world-tourism.orgy e ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

ย ท ไ ้า รค า ก อ ห C ัย TC ล U ยาAPPENDICES y d ิท b ve ว r า t@ se ห h e ม rig r ิ์ y ts ธ p h ิท o ig ส C r ิข ll ล A

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ย ท ้าไ ค าร ก APPENDIXอ A C QUESTIONNAIREห FOR TOURISTSC ัย T าล U ย y ed ิท b v ว r า t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 132

The questionnaire for the International tourists in Bagan, Myanmar.

ย Dear Sir/Madam, ท ้าไ As a MBA (Master of business Administration) student in Internationalค Business at The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok, รI am working on Thesis study titled “STRATEGIES FOR THE INBOUND TOURIST DESTINATIONา MANAGEMENT- A CASE STUDY OF BAGAN”. I would appreciate yourก willingness to take part in this study and the information you provide will be very criticalอ to the successfulC completion of my thesis and also to policy makers for futureห planning to the inboundC tourist destination management in Myanmar. ัย T Please take your time in answeringาล the survey and it willU take only a few minutes to complete. If you have any ยrelated queries, you cany content to by mail: ed [email protected]ิท b v ว er า t@ s ห gh re Thankingิ์ ม ri s Sincerelyธ yours, y t ิทMiss Thin Yu Yu Hlaing,op gh ส MBA in InternationalC Business ri ิข The University of the Thai Chamberl lof Commerce ล Bangkok, Thailand A

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Please tick one in each question, based on your desire with the following statements while you visit and stay in Myanmar especially at Bagan.

(1)Visitor Demographics and Trip Characteristics ย ท (i) Region ้าไ ค Asia Europe America Oceaniaร Others า (ii) Gender ก Male อ Female C ห C ัย T (iii) Information Source about าBaganล U ย y ed By newspaper, travelิท magazines b By internet v ว er By Friendsา and Relatives t @ By sothers ห gh re (iv) Travelิ์ ม Arrangement ri s ธ y t ิท Package Touro p g h FIT Tour ส C ri ิข (v) Length of stay in Bagan ll ( ) days ล A

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(2) Tourists’ attractions in Bagan

ย Attractions Least Little Moderate More ท Most interesting interesting interesting้าไ interesting (1) (2) (3) ค(4) (5) Culture &Customs าร Historical ก monuments & อ archaeological ห C structure ัย C Religion of ล T Buddhism า U d Shopping (souvenir) ิท ย by ve Scenic beauty ว @ er Environment ofา h t s Bagan ห ig re Traditionalิ์ ม food yr ts ธ p h ิท o ig ส C r ิข (3) Facilities and Services in Baganl l ล A Facilities & Services Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly disagree agree (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) On-line booking service for hotels and domestic airlines is convenient 135

Applying entry visa is easy Moving through Customs and Immigration was efficient when I came ย Providing good security & ไ ท safety ้า Bagan has adequate standard ค hotels for travels าร The service quality of hotels is ก satisfactory อ The standard and hygiene of ห C restaurants are acceptable ัย C The domestic airline has ล T enough seat for traveling to า U d Bagan ย by e The service qualityว ofิท domestic r v airline is satisfactoryา t@ se Transportationห is convenient h e for travelingม ig r Telecommunicationิ์ servicey rin ts ธBagan is satisfactory p h ิทTourism departmento has ig ส published sufficientC travel r ิข information ll ล Good communication with localA people Having convenience to exchange currency There is enjoyable entertainment in Bagan

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ทย ้าไ รค กา APPENDIXอ B ห CC OVERVIEWลัย OF BAGAN T า U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al 137

ย ไท ค้า าร ก หอ C ัย TC าล U d ิทย by ve ว @ er หา ht es ig r ิ์ ม yr ts Baganธ p h ิท o ig ส http://www.ancientbagan.com/bagan-travel-tips.htmr ิข C ll ล Located in central Myanmar, BaganA is 400 miles north of the capital Yangon.

21° 10' 42N 94° 55' 45E

Time Difference +6.5 GMT 138

Weather Bagan enjoys a dry climate throughout most of the year. Average temperatureทย during the summer months (April to September) is around 32 degrees, and ar้าoundไ 28 degrees the rest of the year. รค Entrance Fee า ก All visitors arriving in Bagan are required to payอ the US$10 C Bagan Archeological Zone Entrance Fee. ห C ลัย T Currency า U d Local currency is the Kyat. Unitedย States Dollars (US$)y and Foreign Exchangee ิท b rv Certificates (FEC) areว accepted at hotels. @ e า ht s Donation ห g re ิ์ ม ri s Donationธ can be made atp everyy pagodas and temples.ht There is an office where people can ิทdonate money. o g ส C ri ิข Taxi l ล Al There are private taxis in Bagan. You only need to let the hotel, if you needed any taxi. They can arrange it for you. Horse Cart Sight seeing around in Bagan can give you a great pleasure and at the same time going 139

around with horse carts can be an exciting experience. To rent a horse cart, you can just ask the hotel you are staying and they can arrange a horse cart and a driverท ยto go out. The charges are per day. ้าไ Bicycle ค If you want to roam around by yourself, then you can rentา bicyclesร from hotels and inn. They can arrange this for you. You will need someอ sunก cream and water, if you would go on a bicycle. ห CC Boat ลัย T Boats are available next to the Bupayaา Pagoda for shor t Utrips down the peacefuld Ayeyarwaddy River. Going dowยn the Ayeyarwaddy cany give you a marvellouse journey. ิท b rv Walking าว t@ se Walking alongห dusty rural paths andg stumblingh across templesre and stupas is the best way to feel aม part of Bagan. A mapr ofi Bagan will be useful for one while walking around the ธิ์ y ts ิทregion. p h ส Co rig ิข l ล Al 140

ย ไท ค้า าร ก หอ C ัย TC าล U ย y ed ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

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ย BIOGRAPHY ไท ้า th ค Ms Thin Yu Yu Hlaing was born on 16 September,ร 1984 at Yangon, Myanmar. She graduated in 2004 with Bachelor of Art (Economics)า from Yangon University, Myanmar. On completion of her degree, she joined Moe Hein กCo, Ltd as an Assistant Manager and Personal Assistant to the Managing Director. อ ห CC Considering her expertise and areaัย of work, she is currTently pursuing her Master’ Degree in Business Administratiาon,ล International BusinessU (MBA) from the Thai Chamber of Commerce University, Thailandย to supplement her knowledgey and skill set. e d ิท b rv าว t@ se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

ทย

ไ ค้า าร ก หอ C ัย TC าล U d 2009 THIN YU YU HLAING THE INBOUNDย TOURISM DESTINATIONy STRATEGYe – A CASE STUDY OF ิท b rv า วTHE ANCIENT CITYt@ OF MYANMAR, BAGAN.se ห gh re ิ์ ม ri s ธ py ht ิท o ig ิขส C l r ล Al

ย CHAPTER 2 ไท LITERATURE REVIEW ค้า The understanding of the subject will contributeา toร achieve the objectives of the thesis successfully. In addition, this thesis is requiredก the writer to understand deeper in the theory in order to compile of his knowledge intoอ practice. C ัยห C Therefore, literature review is aล key to break through of thoseT concepts which ultimately helps in examining different factorsา and recommending suitableU alternatives. Accordingly, it ย y ed is very important to reviewิท literature before undertakingb a thesis work rbecausev on any issue in any field of studyว is well accomplished @with basic understand aboute the subject. Here an า ht s effort has beenห taken to portrayig many facets of destinationre management issues, while consideringม tourism destinationsr as a whole and the tourism market. This chapter reviews ธิ์ y ts ิทthe concepts and theo majorp constructs of gthe hstudy. The chapter comprises 5 sections, ส which are - ri ิข C ll ล 1. Tourism A 2. Strategy

3. Destination,

4. Tourism Development in Myanmar,

ย CHAPTER 3 ท ้าไ METHODOLOGY รค กา This chapter highlights the methodologyอ adopted to completeC the research study. It deals with details of conceptual frameworkัยห used to reach the Cexpected outcomes of the study. Research design, location ofล the study, sampling,U andT questionnaire design aspect for primary data collection and analysisา of the collected data is also dealt in detail.d ย by e 3.1 Research Frameworkิท rv าว t@ e The หstudy was conducted basedh on the conceptuale frameworks drawn integrating Kano’s (1984) with the SERVQUALig model. However, the rattributes for measurement of the ิ์ ม yr ts satisfactionธ of tourists pvisiting Bagan were identifiedh based on Beerli et al., (2004) as ิทdiscussed earlier. Theo conceptual frameworkg is adopted from Tan and Pawitra (2001) as ส C ri ิข illustrated in Figure 3.2, integratingl Kanol ’s and SERVOUAL model. The determinants of ล above mentioned aspects wereA being considered both from suppliers’ side as well as demand side. Suppliers include the several organizations that are part of the destination ecosystem. Demand side includes the perspective visitors to the destination in question (Bagan).

ย CHAPTER 5 ไท CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONSค้า าร This chapter constitutes 4 parts. Part 1 อmentionsก about the conclusion of the research, part 2 are recommendations, partห 3 analyzes about the limitaCtion of the research and part 4 is about future research. ัย C ล UT า d ย by ve 5.1 Conclusion ิท r าว t@ se Indigenousห tourism has recentlyh been acknowledgedre as a potential and fast growing segment of the tourism industry. iIng line with this process, the local culture, history, and ิ์ ม yr ts ิทnatureธ are often seen asp popular and, indeed, well-soldh products. Examples from tourism industry suggest the ocomplex constructs of iculture,g history, and nature can be effectively ส C l r ลิข incorporated in tourist destination brandingl process and help to create and market the unique image of a destination onA the marketplace. In its turn, a strong and distinctive destination brand positively affects an inflow of tourists, contributing to the overall wealth of the region. The present study attempts to explore how the constructs of culture, history, and nature can be incorporated in the process of branding a tourist destination. Perceptions