Staff members of a tourist agency in Rangoon, the former capital of Burma have claimed that the tourism industry in Burma is in the doldrums. This has affected payment of their salaries, a source said.

"Our salary has not increased in what has become an unstable tourism business given the unstable political situation in the country and following the impact of Cyclone Nargis," said a staff member of a leading tourist agency in Rangoon.

Since Cyclone Nargis lashed Burma, not many tourists have come to the country. There were a few tourists from European countries like Italy, Spain and a few others, according to a tourist agent.

"The number of tourists coming to visit Burma has not picked up. Too few have come. So far the year 2006 was the best in terms of tourism because many tourists came to Burma. But since late 2007 and after Cyclone Nargis devastated parts of Burma, the number of tourists has dwindled making the tourism unstable," a staff member said.