By: Andrea Ross

Recently in promoting our trip to Myanmar Andrea and I heard from an editor concerned about us visiting Myanmar and supporting a regime that clearly is oppressive and lacks any level of human rights. This is a concern that a lot of travelers have and I understand and admire it. I wrote the editor a heartfelt letter back and wanted to share it with you…

Dear Editor,
I am running the land portion of this trip with Andrea Marshall and I just wanted to add a quick note as I would hate anyone to think that we made this choice carelessly. My husband and I have lived in Southeast Asia for the last eight years and have offices throughout the region. When we first started working and living in Southeast Asia we made a point of not going to Myanmar for the very reasons you mention, that the government is rife with human rights abuses and The Lady was still under house arrest. After living in Cambodia for a few years we met some lovely Burmese people running hotels and working in the tourism industry, when we asked them why they left Burma, it was not the answer we expected. We thought they would say that they didn’t believe in the government and wanted to live away from the corruption and control, while I don’t think any of them were fans of the government, the answer we got was different…they wanted to work in their country, but there weren’t enough jobs in the tourism sector and that’s what they wanted to do. After hearing many similar stories we were invited by a friend to travel to Myanmar and see for ourselves. We didn’t take this decision lightly, but decided that we wanted to meet the people and see what was happening with our own eyes. The truth is we fell in love with Myanmar. Everyone we met asked us why we sent tourists throughout Southeast Asia, but not to Myanmar and we had to answer that it was their government and the fact that we didn’t feel we should support it with our tourist dollars. One lovely guide laughed and explained that the only way to create change was to open the borders and have ideas flow both ways. To this day I don’t regret our decision to open an office in Yangon. The guides, drivers, hotel staff and everyday people we support need this work and I have seen dialogue between travelers and Burmese that I honestly believe is the precursor for change. When Aung San Suu Kyi was released she too expressed that she now feels that tourism and the opening of borders is a positive move for her country and I’m excited that she has decided to change her stance on this.

When the cyclone hit Myanmar we were one of the only aid organizations allowed into Myanmar because of our tourism relationship with the country. We took hundreds of pounds of rice to the Delta region and we still support an orphanage that was filled to overflowing after the storm. Our non-profit, Journeys Within Our Community, also supports young orphans that want to go to university and we cover their education and books so they can continue on with their studies and get a degree, an honor usually only possible if you have money or government ties.

While I know our stance on tourism in Myanmar is not supported by many, I strongly feel that what we’re doing is a positive thing for the country and not in any way a show of support for the government. We support small locally owned hotels and we have a network of guides and drivers that need the work and want to be able to show outsiders their amazing country. I think Andrea and I came together for this trip for the same reasons, she wants to document what is happening in the waters surrounding Myanmar and hopefully make a difference for the mantas and other sea life and I want to support the people in Myanmar trying to make an honest living and who are proud of what their country could be. I am excited to take a group of travelers to see both the diversity on land and in the ocean and to honestly show them the good and the bad of both environments.

I absolutely appreciate your intolerance for the government and during the monk riots we honestly believed that it might be the end of the junta. We were incredibly saddened when that wasn’t the case, but we hope that by opening the borders, sharing ideas and opening this country up that we might be able to one day see something like we’ve been seeing in the Middle East happen in Burma.

Thanks Steve and all the best,
Andrea

The New York Times also just wrote an article about the changes that are happening right now in Myanmar. Learn a little about the new government and what is happening with their economy.… Read more »