A fishing village has become the latest excuse to visit the Myeik Archipelago after the local community began welcoming visitors this week.
In what officials tout as Myanmar’s first community-based tourism (CBT) initiative on an island, Done Nyaung Hmine village in Kyunsu township will offer visitors a chance to experience pristine coves, fresh seafood and life by the Andaman Sea.
For the first time, foreigners will also be allowed to stay overnight on the island—but only in the village. They can meet the locals, a mix of Bamar and Karen migrants, and native Moken, whose traditional sea nomadic lifestyle has changed dramatically over the years, partly due to government interference.
The initiative would help alleviate poverty, according to Tanintharyi Region Chief Minister Myint Maung, who told Daily Eleven that the regional government’s first CBT project, launched in Dawei District’s San Hlan village in October 2018, had been successfully implemented.
About a two-hour speedboat ride from Myeik township, the village will serve as a base for sightseeing cruises to other islands in the area, said Nyo Aye, director of Directorate of Hotels and Tourism in Tanintharyi Region.
Done Nyaung Hmine was already a lunch spot for cruises around the archipelago, however its effort to become an attraction in its own right was delayed by the pandemic. Covid-19 travel restrictions still apply in the area, including mandatory virus tests for domestic airline travel and a one-week quarantine.
