The number of people visiting Ngapali Beach in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, is reportedly on the rise, bolstering hopes that the state’s battered tourism industry may be poised for a rebound.

 Around 50 percent of all hotels and guesthouses in Thandwe town and Ngapali Beach have been booked by visitors, according to an official from the township’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.

“The number of people visiting Ngapali Beach is on the rise in March when compared to February,” said U Kyaw Zeya, director of the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism. “Now more than 1,200 visitors spend the night at Ngapali Beach every day. About 50 percent of all hotels and guesthouses in Thandwe town and Ngapali Beach have already been booked by local visitors and tourists.”

A total of 18,838 local travellers and 797 tourists visited Ngapali Beach from January through February 2023, according to figures compiled by the township’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.

During the three-year period from 2020 to 2022, tourist arrivals to Ngapali Beach decreased due to conflict and Covid-19.

“For the past three years, Ngapali Beach has seen very few tourist arrivals,” said Ma Yin Thu, a tour guide from Thandwe. “Tourist arrivals to Ngapali Beach decreased due to regional instability and the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, we can say that the number of tourists visiting Ngapali Beach has increased compared to previous years. We expect more tourists to come to Ngapali Beach in the coming months.”

However, the number of tourists visiting Mrauk-U, the epicentre of Arakan State’s ancient cultural heritage, is still reportedly low.

“There are tourist arrivals to Mrauk-U, but this year’s tourist arrival is still less than previous years. There are almost no tourists booked in the hotel,” said an hotelier in Mrauk-U, some 170 miles northwest of Ngapali Beach.

Arakan State attracted 292,715 domestic travellers and 3,866 foreign visitors from January to October of last year, according to the state’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.