The Myanmar Tourist Guide Association (MTGA) has called for restrictions on the use of foreign tour guides in Myanmar and penalties for companies that employ them.
“This is illegal that foreigners are explaining about Myanmar’s destinations. It is a waste of the country’s human resources,” MTGA chairperson Aung Lin Tun told the Global New Light of Myanmar. “In addition, those foreigner guides might mislead the wrong history.”
In 2012, members of the local tourism industry sent a report to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism that demanded a ban on foreign tour guides, but the ministry ignored it.
“We are upset by the lack of response. However, we will attempt to report it to the government against so that more foreigners cannot join this,” Aung Lin Tun said.
He explained that Korean tour guides, whose numbers jumped from four to 10 since 2012, pose the most significant threat among foreign tour guides.
“Those so-called foreign tour guides are stepping on Korean-speaking local guides, making them move to other jobs,” he said, adding that Vietnamese and Italian guides have also been spotted leading inbound tours.
Kyaw Min Htin, a joint-secretary general of the Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF), acknowledged the problem of competition from foreign tour guides but offered an alternative solution to a flat-out ban.
“We strongly disagree with foreigner guides leading inbound tours. To avoid such matters, [a requirement for] a tour guide in each inbound tour beside the tour leader should be incorporated into our tourism regulations.”
Competition in Myanmar’s tourism industry has tightened in recent months. In September, MTF announced that travel advisories and negative media coverage of Myanmar’s displacement of over 620,000 Rohingya from the country have triggered a slump in foreign visitors.
“Foreign guides leading inbound tours have exacerbated the job-hunting difficulties for local guides,” said Kyaw Min Htin.
Contact information for 101 multilingual local tour guides can be found on the MTGA website.
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