Chinese ‘Zero Budget’ Tours Edge Out Local Workers in Myanmar

Description: 

"Tourists visiting Myanmar from China are entering the country more and more in groups set up to keep money in the hands of their Chinese guides and travel agencies, creating a growing problem for locals working in the tourism and hospitality industry, sources say. Traveling in so-called zero-budget tours, the Chinese visitors to Myanmar lodge and shop only at places already approved, and eat only at restaurants selected by their guides. These restrictions are now leaving workers in Myanmar’s tourist industry with less and less to do, one worker named Myo Naing told RFA’s Myanmar Service in a recent interview. “We don’t have jobs now, and we don’t make as much money as we did before,” he said. “This is because if the tour organizers use us, it will be more expensive for them. They will have to pay us at least fifty dollars. And we won’t let them cheat their tour group or tell them things that aren’t true.” “Also, because we are citizens of Myanmar and official tourist guides, we won’t let them get away with doing anything untoward,” he said..."

Creator/author: 

Richard Finney

Source/publisher: 

"Mizzima" (Myanmar)

Date of Publication: 

2019-11-14

Date of entry: 

2019-11-15

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar, China

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good