Market system analysis - Myanmar

Getting ahead of the curve: finding opportunities in a fast-changing market

A market systems analysis of the tourism sector in Southern Shan State

Short description

For the last quarter of a century, Myanmar and southern Shan State have been on a tourism rollercoaster. In the early 1990s, Myanmar had very lit¬tle tourism, but the numbers gradually grew until 2011, when the country opened up and tourism exploded – growing 550% in just five years. With the ongoing crisis in the Rakhine State featuring front and centre on Myanmar’s international image, foreign tourists visiting the southern Shan State have recently dropped by nearly 30%. While foreign tourists have dropped, the domestic market is starting to take-off – increasing 25% between 2017 and 2018.

In such a volatile market, where can a market systems project find solid opportunities? For this UN Joint Cluster Project in the southern Shan State, Myanmar, a market systems analysis of the tourism sector was the starting point. This analysis unpacked the tourism sector’s key market constraints and their underlying root causes as a basis for identifying project intervention areas and opportunities. This report complements another analysis conducted on the tea sector for the same project. Click on the report to learn more about the tourism market system in Southern Shan State and where opportunities can be created in the midst of rapid change.

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