QUESTION: I would like to visit Burma (now named Myanmar), but I know that this is a politically sensitive issue. Is it okay to visit the country now? - Sheldon Price.
ANSWER: Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has not changed her stance and has appealed to tourists not to visit the country. She maintains that
tourism confers legitimacy on the ruling military junta and the tourist dollars fuel government repression. However, there are others who say that tourism is one of the few ways locals can earn a living independently and that the presence of
foreigners serves to curb human rights abuses. The government has stopped forcing visitors to change $200 dollars into government notes on arrival, but tourism is still very controlled. The decision on whether to visit or not depends on your assessment of the situation. If you do go, you can minimise your support for the regime by staying in family-owned hotels, buying goods directly from the people and not from tourist shops and avoiding any package tours, which are run by government agencies.
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