Visit Myanmar—That’s an Order

Travel Stories: Travel to Myanmar has slowed to a trickle. But a decade ago, with great fanfare, the government launched a new tourism campaign. Stephen Brookes, then Rangoon bureau chief for Asia Times, remembers its bizarre launch ceremony.

imagePhoto by Stephen Brookes

Out in the stadium, meanwhile, the ceremony was getting ready to start. From a huge gate at one corner, a marching band burst onto the field playing the national anthem, and from another gate, a battalion of uniformed flag-bearers entered. As they marched around the field in perfect precision, an announcement burst out of the loudspeakers and everyone looked up into the sky. Far above us, a team of parachutists was descending, unfurling a gigantic “Visit Myanmar” banner as they fell. At the moment they hit the ground, the entire audience on the far side of the stadium stood up holding colored cards that spelled out in huge letters, “Enjoy Your Stay in Myanmar.”

Next to me, a Japanese journalist was staring wide-eyed at the spectacle, shaking his head as he searched for the right word. “It’s so ... so ... North Korean,” he said, finally.

The rest of the event came off with, as you’d expect, tight military precision. As a helicopter circled lazily above the stadium and the TV Myanmar film crews beamed footage back for the live broadcast, the Minister for Tourism extolled the joys and natural beauty of the country, adding that the tourism campaign should convince any doubters about “our commitment to open our doors to the world.”

Then there were floats made up as white, winged elephants; flying wedges of pom-pom girls; and troupes of dancing girls who swayed vaguely back and forth to Burmese pop tunes. And, of course, the 10 giant pageboy dolls I’d seen earlier that morning came out and lumbered their way around the stadium, waving blindly at the audience and trying not to knock each other down.

But as the ceremony wore on, one of the photographers noticed something odd. Almost the entire audience seemed to be divided into groups of women dressed in the same bright distinctive colors. Not only that: Each section would periodically empty out and suddenly reappear on the stadium field—as dancers.

“Too much!” the photographer said, when it dawned on us what was happening. “They’re performing for themselves!”

It was true—and it explained the listless, vacant quality of the applause; they’d all seen everything before, in rehearsal. And as we scanned the viewing stands, with their bored enclaves of military officials, diplomats, travel agents and hotel managers, we realized that, for the Grand Opening of Visit Myanmar Year, there were only about 30 actual tourists—bussed in unknowingly, we found out later, as part of a group that happened to be in Rangoon that day.

After the closing song (“We sing of our modern developed country, and we welcome all visitors to this wondrous golden land”), I joined the mass exodus, got a useless quote from the Minister for Tourism (“We had a very good opening to Visit Myanmar Year!”) and bumped into Sue Reitz, the smart, sardonic manager of the Strand Hotel.

“Enjoy your stay in Myanmar, Sue,” I urged her, as we walked out into the parking lot.

“Thank you, Stephen, I will,” she replied, with a thin smile. “But then—we don’t really have much choice in the matter, do we?”


Tags: Nation Branding, Propaganda, Asia, Burma (Myanmar), Yangon (Rangoon)

Stephen Brookes is a journalist based in Washington, D.C., and a classical music critic for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, Asia Times, Insight, The Far Eastern Economic Review and Architectural Digest.


4 Comments for Visit Myanmar—That’s an Order

Brandon 09.09.08 | 9:22 PM ET

Brilliant! I got a chance to visit Myanmar as a student a few years… Powerful essay capture the contrived nature of Junta trying to make whatever it can a spectacle as a facade from the grim reality of day-to-day life there.

I can’t wait to go back.

Nyi Nyi 09.15.08 | 7:25 AM ET

Thanks for sharing this article of Stephen who has been here more than a decade ago. 12 years ago, it might have been true. And it might have been a game plan between the political party and the Junta itself to show how gigantic they are. Meanwhile, Daw Suu Kyi told “don’t visit!”. To put exact way,

“Tourism to Burma is helping to prolong the life of one of the most brutal and destructive regimes in the world,” she told reporters once. “Visiting now is tantamount to condoning the regime.”  (Ref: BBC News | Asia-Pacific 1996)

But we have to rethink that since then she has been under house arrest along without press release. So that must also be outdated, happened in 12 years ago.

It was a kind of show between them, the Writer could express it pretty well. But I think it is a bleeding humble request now by the people, for the people. So it’s not an order, it’s a request.

Debra 09.19.08 | 5:12 PM ET

I would love to visit Burma but the bad news coming out from the country is creating a concern for me. I hope all of you are well and bringing the peace back so we can travel to Burma.

Torah 10.04.08 | 4:09 PM ET

I heard that Burma (or Myanmar) is an extremely beautiful place. If I had the time and the money to go there, I for sure would. That, and Italy, is on my “to go” list.

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