| Mandalay hosts MMC cultural fair |
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| Wednesday,February 04,2009 Posted: 10:44 BJT(0244 GMT) |
| From:Myanmar Times Article type:Reproduced |
THE Celebrations Mandalay cultural fair was held on January 24 and 25 at Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel, featuring handicraft displays, vendors’ booths and a variety of cultural performances.
The festival was organised by the Myanmar Marketing Committee (MMC) with cooperation from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association and Mandalay Zone Hotel Entrepreneurs Association.
The festival included displays of traditional gold embroidery and other handicrafts, traditional dances, chinlon and wushu exhibitions, and musical performances by children from local private schools.
“The highlight of the festival was a live concert by Zaw Win Htut and Htun Eindra Bo on the night of January 24,” said Daw Khaing Wai Thwe from MMC.
She said Celebrations Mandalay was part of an ongoing series of events organised by MMC with the aim of boosting tourism throughout Myanmar.
The committee organised a fun run in Yangon October and a cultural festival in Bagan on November. Future events include the annual Grand Ball in Yangon in February, Orchid Festival 2009 at Inle Lake in March and a Celebrations Yangon event in April.
MMC is also preparing a Calendar of Tourism Events, which will be distributed globally to allow tourists to plan trips that correspond with annual cultural events, such as the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival at Inle in October and the hot air balloon festival in Taunggyi in November.
“We are taking these initiatives to promote tourism to Myanmar. We would like to continue every year if we are able, to let people know about our country and also to let people in the country know about the work of the Myanmar Marketing Committee,” Daw Khaing Wai Thwe said.
She said the committee was working very hard to overcome a recent drop in tourist numbers, caused by a variety of factors.
“One of our main tasks is to raise money so we can attend travel trade shows around the world to promote Myanmar as a tourist destination,” she said.
U Soe Moe, the owner of a handicraft shop in Mandalay who operated a vending booth at the Celebrations Mandalay cultural fair, said he hoped such events would help boost sales.
“Sales have gone down along with the drop in the number of tourists,” he said. “But when foreign tourists come, we know from past experience that they are very interested in local handicrafts and they will buy them to take home.”
“We hope that cultural fairs like this one will help raise interest in travelling to Myanmar, which will help everyone involved in the industry,” he said.
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