IT SEEMS everyone’s eyes are on Burma as the new tourism
destination. But after languishing for years with sanctions and
restrictions, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will struggle
to cope with the anticipated influx of western travellers eager to
experience this once mysterious destination.
A shortage of hotel beds and other critical infrastructure like
air capacity is set to play into the hands of cruise operators as
the ideal means of exploring this newly opened nation. In 2012,
Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism released figures that
quoted a doubling of arrivals over six years to just over one million.
Cross-border arrivals are static, while air arrivals are soaring.
Much of the romantic allure of Burma was formed during the
British colonial era when the country was absorbed into the
Empire in the closing years of the 19th century.
Of course, life under British rule was not ideal for the devout
Buddhist population of Burma, but stories of the steamy,
mysterious land by the likes of 1907 Nobel laureate, Rudyard
Kipling, set the scene with tales of adventure and derring-do for
generations of imaginative English-speaking children.
One of the enduring visions of colonial Burma is that of the many
hard-working steamboats of the 1865-formed Irrawaddy Flotilla
Company that traversed the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers in the
service of the British Empire.
When the British recovered Burma in 1945 after Japanese
occupation, the IFC was reformed.
Today the original vessels of the IFC are gone, but their spirit
lives on in a new and rebuilt fleet of replica vessels, constructed
with absolute authenticity to recapture that romantic colonial
spirit. Enter Pandaw.
Building on the overwhelming popularity of the nostalgic river
cruising concept established on the Mekong with RV Indochina
Pandaw, the company expanded river operations to include the
Irrawaddy with an identical sister vessel, the Orient Pandaw.
The name Pandaw derives from the last of the original, Clydebuilt
vessels recovered and restored to its former glory in the late
1990s, thus reviving the name and the concept of Asian retro river
cruising.
While pioneering the riverboat trade along the Irrawaddy
and Chindwin Rivers, Pandaw’s success quickly attracted new
operators.
Pandaw continued to profit from their exclusivity and many
cruise wholesalers like Cruiseco and Viking employed the classic
vessels while others like Orient-Express launched their own.
Smaller, local operators like Yangon-based Myanmar River Cruises
are also getting in on the action with a fleet of six varied vessels
including day boats.
While more and more visitors are arriving in Burma and many
looking at the floating option, knowledge within the retail cruise
sector is limited to specialist agencies with actual on-the-water
experience. A good reason to consult ICCA accredited cruise
agents.
See www.cruising.org.au for members.
