New Delhi (Mizzima) – A United Kingdom-based charity group on Thursday rejected the call by a campaign group on travel agencies, to stop business deals with Burma, saying tourism helped the people of Burma.
Network Myanmar, a charity group led by former British Ambassador to Thailand, Derek Tonkin, in a statement on Wednesday said, promoting tourism in Burma helped the people of the country as it could create jobs for many people.
"We believe that responsible tourism can make a valuable contribution to the cause of democratic reform in Myanmar [Burma]," Derek Tonkin, Chairman of Network Myanmar, said in the press release.
Tonkin's comment came after a UK-based campaign group, Tourism Concern, on Tuesday said at least 24 tour operators in UK, had business links with Burma by arranging clients for hotels and resorts, owned by Burmese military junta's cronies, who were blacklisted by the European Council.
However, Tonkin and members of Network Myanmar said that tourism had overwhelming support of the vast majority of the local population, as it helped to address unemployment problems in Burma.
Tonkin said he rejected the call by 'Tourism Concern' on tour operators to withdraw from Burma, until meaningful democracy was restored. He dubbed the report by 'Tourism Concern' as "misleading and irresponsible."
"The further isolation of the long suffering Burmese people cannot possibly be in their interests," Tonkin said.
However, Rachel Noble, spokesperson of 'Tourism Concern' defended its stand by saying the European Union's trade sanctions against the Burmese military regime, have had no impact on the normal Burmese people, but cut off the lifelines of the regime.
She said it was the regime that had tormented the Burmese people and brought about their economic downfall.
"The Burmese people are starving because of the regime's mismanagement. You cannot just blame the sanctions," Noble said.
"Some people are keen to point out that the West's isolation policy is not effective because they are striving for business deals in that country [Burma]," she added.
The Tourism Concern also called on the UK government to update and implement the European Council 2008 regulation and to issue clear guidelines to all UK tour operators and tourism establishments, not to breach the EC trade ban.
However, a report in UK-based Travel Weekly said the 'Bales Worldwide' travel agency, one of the tour operators, which Tourism Concern has accused of funding the Burmese regime, has defended its decision to make Burmese destinations in its tour programmes.
"We are a non-political organization and there is a lot of potential harm you can do by isolating a country," Iain Fenton, Sales Director of Bales Worldwide, was quoted as saying in the report.
