TODAY

Glenn van Zetphen has been a working journalist for 28 years for the likes of CNN International CNBC Asia, NHK and Discovery Channel Magazine, among many others. His Singapore-based consultancy, VanMedia Group, works with individuals, companies, media organizations and governments to train effective communicators. Originally from Chicago, USA, he first moved to Asia in 1989 and has been witness to the amazing changes in the region, having lived in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. His first, co-authored book, “Happy Customers Everywhere”, is available in bookstores and on amazon.com.  Recently, Glenn made his first trip to Myanmar, with his wife and two children.

First day experience in Myanmar
My first day in Myanmar was an assault on the senses and a reckoning of my preconceived notions of what the country would be like. As we walked off the airplane, our first impression was of Yangon’s modern and clean airport. Immigration people seemed efficient as did the official money changers. The trip into town was buzzing with people who looked like they were very engaged and energetic: selling things by the side of the road, taking bses, walking, riding or driving somewhere. Everyone seemed to have something to do or someplace to go.

Where you visited during your trip here, your most favorite place among them.
As everyone does, in Yangon we visited Shwedagon Pagoda. Holy Trinity Anglican Church, the Bogyoke Market and did a lot of walking around the old, colonial district by the river.
For its sheer majesty, Shwedagon Pagoda, was my favorite. But Holy Trinity Church was also very special and one can feel the history inside. Outside of Yangon, we absolutely loved Ngapali Beach. We were at the Amara Ocean Resort, which you may know is the only resort on that stretch of Ngapali beach. Bagan was also very memorable. It’s mystical place. Also, Popa Taungkalat monastery in the shadow of Mount Popa was a stunning surprise and a great workout, climbing 777 stairs!

Your comment on these destinations … esp; Ngapali beach
Ngapali beach was a huge surprise, in that I believe it’s one of the most beautiful beaches that I’ve been to in almost 25 years of living in Asia. The stretch of beach that we were on, at the Amara Ocean Resort, was pristine and quiet. The general manager, Ole Rehlaender has done an amazing job with the resort and his well-trained and helpful staff. I hope that the Myanmar Government develops this beach with extreme care, keeping it as undisturbed as possible, and keeping the local villages intact as they now are. This greatly adds to the beauty and charm of Ngapali Beach.
We were also in Bagan, which was amazing. We were surprised, however, at how many young kids would chase us around the tourist sites, trying to sell postcards and other items. Not that I blame them for wanting to make some money, but it was really quite annoying after a while! The river and the sites there were amazing and a “must” for every tourist to see. Also, Bagan House, where they make lacquer ware, was an excellent stop.

Your prospect on Myanmar tourism industry
The industry is obviously in the early stages of development, when you consider other countries in Asia. The infrastructure was pretty good (like flights around the country), but it’s expensive and the domestic airport was (surpris-ingly) very croweded and difficult to negotiate when trying to retrieve our luggage. The people we came across who were in the travel industry seemed genuine and helpful, but could not speak English, which was sometimes a problem for us, since we do not speak Burmese. There also needs to be improvement in the banking system, so that more places can accept credit cards. Carrying around stacks of cash to pay for hotels, meals, etc. is neither safe nor convenient.

Whether you have plan of writing an article or a book about Myanmar?
Yes, I am already writing one article and will be writing others. The first one will appear in the Singapore American Newspaper http://www.aasingapore.com/singapore-american-newspaper/. It’s a wonderful, monthly publica-tion that many expatriates in Singapore read; there is great interest in Singapore, regarding your country. I am also talking with other pub-lications who want stories. As for a book on Myanmar, while on the trip I came up with a couple of book ideas that I believe will be interesting and might sell well I am exploring those topics now. Stay tuned!

Your comments on foods and existing places to visit?
The food was ok, but I don’t see Myanmar as being a “food destination” yet, like Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok. The country needs time to develop its “food personality.” Perhaps if there was a Myanmar celebrity chef that could start introducing the world to local cuisine – like New Zealand-born, Vietnamese -American Bobby Chinn did for Vietnam. One of our best meals was Italian, at the Sandoway Resort in Ngapali. Italian owner Pietro Tura and his Myanmar wife Ohnmar Khin always have an Italian chef in the kitchen and freshly made pasta and sauces.

Any recommendation for tourists to visit Myanmar
Use Yangon as a landing pad for several days, then get out into the country! Whether toward the coast or up into the interior . It’s a beautiful, diverse country.

Advice to Myanmar service industry, (strength and weakness, what should we carry on and what should we leave out, how we should prepare for it (both from private sector and from government site)?
First and most importantly, know your audience. Figure out exactly who are you trying to serve and what do they want/need? If it’s a domestic audience, their needs & expectations will be different from a foreign audience. From a foreigner’s point of view, we know Myanmar is coming out of many decades of being a relatively closed society, so we don’t expect Yangon to be like London. Parts of New York. But, foreign travelers are very discerning these days – so while they may come to Myanmar once, if they do not have a good experience, they will not come back and will likely tell their friends it is not a place to visit. The focus, as we discuss in our book, is to get customers and keep them returning! Government should play an active role in making Myanmar a place that people want to visit. I live in Singapore and the government, for example, has the Singapore Tourism Board https://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/index.asp and Urban Redevelopment Authority http://www.ura.gov.sg/, which for some 40 years has been working and planning to make it a safe, clean, beautiful city to live in, while protecting its cultural heritage. Forward, coor-dinated planning is essential.

Uniqueness and competitiveness of Myanmar as for as you notice and trap for the growth.
As a developing nation, Myanmar is at a key moment in its history. It’s “new” and highly interesting to the outside world – making it a place that people want to see. The people of Myanmar are wonderful and there are inter-esting places to visit around the country. The challenges are infrastructure (getting around the country) and cost. The biggest comment you hear from people is that “Myanmar is too expensive!” To pay hundreds of dollars per night for a hotel that’s worth far less than that is something that resonates with travelers and business people. My wife, two small kids and I traveled on Yangon Airways to Ngapali and Bagan via Yangon. Those relatively simple/short flights cost us US$ 3000. That’s a lot of money. When going to a developing country, people want to feel like they’re getting a bargain. Also, I believe that the country should embrace its architectural history. While it’s natural to want to modernize (build new build-ings, etc) , keeping old, colonial-era buildings will be a huge draw for people. The key is how to refurbish them. If you compare Hong Kong to Singapore … Hong Kong has demolished the vast majority of its colonial buildings over the decades, despite people protesting. In Singapore, they’ve done a much better job in preserving old buildings and making them into interesting restaurants, hotels, museums, etc. It ads character to a city, when that city embraces its history in such a way; locals and tourists can connect to history.

Which sectors Myanmar should focus for the future growth?
I’m not an expert on the Myanmar economy. But I will say that whatever industries the country pursues, it should do so with the latest, clean technology (don’t build old-style, polluting factories or power plants, for example) and leverage the latest/best global ideas to make Myanmar an example of the latest generation of sustainable development. Myanmar is lucky to have areas of pristine wilderness. I hope the government realizes that this is not only important for the environment, but can be a great, eco-tourism revenue generator, if it’s done with care and sensitivity.