RANGOON — Burma’s Hotels and Tourism Ministry will emphasize development of community-based tourism as one of the first priorities in its 100-day policy, according to an official statement issued by the ministry earlier this week.

The policy includes a three-pronged strategy for the country’s fast-growing tourism industry—to expand community-based tourism (CBT), build the capacity of the tourism human resources pool and develop existing popular destinations, as well as promoting less frequented locales. The ministry has pledged to begin implementing the plan within the first 100 days of the new National League for Democracy (NLD) administration.

The CBT development plan includes six main pilot projects to be carried out at different destinations around the country: Kachin State’s Indawgyi Lake area; the townships of Loikaw and Thandaunggyi in Karenni and Karen states, respectively; the Pa-O self-administered zone in Shan State; Magwe Division’s Myaing Township; and in Mandalay Division, the Mingun area and Kyauk Myaung village, according to the statement.

The projects aim to empower local communities by helping to establish village-level guesthouses and package tours, enhancing visitor management mechanisms, and highlighting foreign language skills so that guides can attract tourists to local activities such as trekking, bird watching and environmental conservation, the statement says.

“Local communities can truly benefit from CBT as it directly engages the lowest levels of the community,” Myint Htwe, director of the ministry’s public relations and information department told The Irrawaddy.