Tourism and Human Rights Round Table Meeting Loikaw, Kayah State
Group Photo of the Round Table Meeting in Loikaw, Kayah State.
HSF
"Every person is entitled to certain fundamental rights, simply by the fact of being human. These are called “human rights”, with the aim to secure dignity, freedom and equality for all people. Human rights ensure the protection of individuals or groups against more powerful people or institutions who might want to do harm.” (Excerpt from “Responsible Tourism and Human Rights in Myanmar – Guideline for Hoteliers” by Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Myanmar Responsible Tourism Institute (MRTI) and the ASEAN CSR Network.
Kayah State is an emerging tourism destination with beautiful nature and authentic local culture that gets more tourists year after year. State Minister for Planning & Economic U Maw Maw mentioned in his opening remarks, that while there were about 3000 international tourists in Kayah State in the year 2015, the goal for this year is to reach 10.000. The rapid development also means, that “everything needs to be improved”.
Introduction to the mission, vision and objectives of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Myanmar by Leander Ketelhodt, Program Manager. One of HSF’s pillars in Myanmar is to promote Responsible and Sustainable Tourism, especially in vulnerable, remote areas.
HSF
“Tourism brings many benefits but we have to be aware of the negative aspects too”, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (MoHT) U Lin Zaw Htut said in his opening remarks.
The workshop on Tourism and Human Rights in Loikaw, organized by the HSF, MRTI and the ASEAN CSR Network brought together more than 50 stakeholders from the local tourism sector to discuss strategies to maximize the positive impact of tourism in a responsible way, while mitigating negative impacts.
Participants stated, that the topics of child save tourism and human rights in the tourism sector were new to them but of highest importance. The group discussion in the afternoon was vivid and engaged and highlighted opportunities in the region and issues in the local communities.
Content of the Group Work was how to maximize the positive impact of tourism in a responsible way and also how to raise awareness to pivotal topics on Human Rights. The importance of Child save tourism was also highlighted.
HSF
The round table meeting was part of a series of workshops to raise awareness and understanding on tourism and Human Rights in Myanmar. A responding brochure with the title “Responsible Tourism and Human Rights in Myanmar – Guideline for Hoteliers” was launched on the 22nd of June 2017 in the office of MRTI in Yangon. The link below guides you to a digital version of the brochure. This also resembles the end of the Round Table Meetings