100,000 international tourists visited Inle lake in Myanmar

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

At least 100,000 international tourists visited the area in 2012, combined with a similar number of domestic visitors to the lake, giving a minimum base of 200,000 visitors annually.

At least 100,000 international tourists visited the area in 2012, combined with a similar number of domestic visitors to the lake, giving a minimum base of 200,000 visitors annually.

Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar (Burma). It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 44.9 square miles (116 km2), and one of the highest at an altitude of 2,900 feet (880 m). During the dry season, the average water depth is 7 feet (2.1 m), with the deepest point being 12 feet (3.7 m), but during the rainy season this can increase by 5 feet (1.5 m).

The watershed area for the lake lies to a large extent to the north and west of the lake. The lake drains through the Nam Pilu or Balu Chaung on its southern end. There is a hot spring on its northwestern shore.

Although the lake is not large, it contains a number of endemic species. Over twenty species of snails and nine species of fish are found nowhere else in the world. Some of these, like the silver-blue scaleless Sawbwa barb, the crossbanded dwarf danio, and the Lake Inle danio, are of minor commercial importance for the aquarium trade. It hosts approximately 20,000 brown and black head migratory seagulls in November, December and January

โ€œThrough our research, which included extensive consultations in the Inle region, we found people, environment and infrastructure quite unprepared for this rapid increase in tourism. So there should be more focus on providing training and employment for local people,โ€ IID director Joern Kristensen said last week.

An open group discussion took place on March 17 in Nyaungshwe, the main gateway to the lake, with participants from the local tourism sector. Other activities will include developing a visitor forecast model, preparation of guidelines for sustainable tourism development, training in tourism planning and conducting the first detailed survey of tourists in the region.

Minister of Hotels and Tourism U Htay Aung said the ministry was optimistic about the programโ€™s prospects for success and the long-term sustainability of the lake.

The regional tourism destination management plan will also include a proposal for the establishment and funding of a permanent tourism management body at the lake.

Inle Lake is not well prepared for expected growth in tourism, international experts say, following a rapid rise in visitor numbers to the site over the past few years. To help manage growth, the Institute for International Development (IID) in Yangon and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, based in Kathmandu, Nepal, have developed a tourism management plan for the greater Inle Lake region, with support from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the government of Luxembourg.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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