The Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and the Myanmar Hoteliers Association will this month carry out joint inspections of selected hotels in the country as part of the government's strategy to upgrade certain hotel improve services.

The Myanmar News Agency reports:

“We were not able to judge hotels’ standard this year. But, we have a plan for upgrading them this month. We are going to inspect the hotels together with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. We are going to do this work dividing into two groups,” said Tin Win, chairman of Yangon Hotel Zone, of Myanmar Hoteliers Association.

The arrival of tourists to Myanmar has increased since 2012. Although it is not in the peak season, tourist arrivals have much more increased with high demand for hotel rooms. So hotel charges are getting higher. In the entire country, there are 826 licensed hotels and 29,999 rooms according to the data released by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism on June 2013.

Moreover, the ministry has estimated around 2 million foreign travelers will visit Myanmar. In addition, Myanmar will host the 27th SEA Games at the end of this year and so tourist arrivals will increase more than ever.

But, there are only five five-star hotels in Myanmar and they are all owned by foreigners. In 2011, hotel standards were determined and there are 11 hotels with 4 star level, 56 hotels with 3 star level, 49 hotels with 2 star level and 69 hotels with 1 star level. The hotels in Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi and Bagan were assessed by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.