Myanmar–Russia visa-free travel, but marketing to attract foreign tourists remains weak
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Phyo/Saw (NP News)Jan 30
An MAI airline official told The Statesman that despite the Myanmar-Russia visa exemption, there is a lack of marketing to attract foreign tourists.
The Russia-Myanmar mutual visa exemption agreement was signed in Minsk, Belarus, on October 28, 2025, and will come into effect on January 27 this year.
The above-mentioned source said that the number of Russians visiting Myanmar is roughly 3,000 to 4,000 per year, while the largest number of tourists visit Thailand and Malaysia, amounting to millions.
“In other countries, there are direct flights operated by large aircraft, supported by strong marketing, government assistance, and marketing funds from the hotel and tourism sector. Airlines there receive solid backing and encouragement. In our case, we have to struggle on our own, while those countries receive a lot of support. So tourists tend to go there instead. Then there are hotel facilities. In our country, the lack of peace is one issue, and when tourists stay in hotels, the prices are two to three times higher compared to other countries. When people ask why, we don’t really have an answer to give,” he said.
The agreement between the government of Myanmar and the government of the Russian Federation on visa-free entry for citizens of the two countries will allow Russian citizens to stay in Myanmar for up to 30 days at a time, and Myanmar citizens visiting Russia will also have the same rights.
However, the visa exemption is only for ordinary passport holders and does not apply to permanent residence, study, or work permits, so if you plan to stay for more than 30 days, you must apply for the relevant visa in advance.
Additionally, the visa-free period cannot exceed a total stay of 90 days per year.
“Tthe tourism sector cannot be developed by flights alone. Collaborations and marketing strategies are needed to make it easier for people to come to Myanmar. There also need to be many fun sites. Myanmar is very weak in terms of those marketing. So they are only looking to the Europeans who have visited. Now, it is not possible for the Europeans to come back to Myanmar for the next 2 or 3 years,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Russian citizens most frequently visit Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Inle Lake, and Ngwesaung in Myanmar.
“There is a possibility that more Russian groups will come. I also think more local tourists will go to Russia. Some of them had visa problems in the past, so they didn't travel far. In the past, they rarely visited. There are Myanmar citizens who have gone to Russia. Now, if there are no visa problems, I think more of them will travel,” said a travel entrepreneur. –