Myanmar will provide visas on arrival to Chinese and Indian tourists, as the governing junta seeks to lure back foreign visitors.
The junta’s immigration ministry stated that a start date for the one-year trial scheme will be announced soon.
The visa holders will be allowed to visit all sites except restricted areas for security concerns. Citizens of both nations must currently apply for a tourist visa online, or at a Myanmar embassy.
The military is struggling to squash opposition to its 2021 coup and has confessed that it does not entirely control large swaths of the country.
Due to the ongoing violence, countries such as the United States and Australia advise against all travel to Myanmar.
Since the coup, China and India, which share long and porous borders with Myanmar, have maintained connections with the isolated generals.
The tourism ministry of the junta is also seeking to attract visitors from Russia, another significant ally and armaments supplier.
The national carrier inaugurated direct flights to Russia’s Novosibirsk, earlier this month, and the junta has stated that it is trying to legalize the use of Russia’s Mir cards for direct payments.
Following decades of military dictatorship, Myanmar opened its doors to tourists in 2011, quickly becoming popular with visitors.
During the coronavirus outbreak, it closed its borders, and the military takeover and ensuring brutal crackdown on dissent have kept visitors away.
The economy has tanked, with the kyat currency plummeting against the dollar and continuous power outages rocking major cities, where ATMs and foreign exchange counters are scarce.
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