Travel industry slams Myanmar tourists over rubbish

Travel industry slams Myanmar tourists over rubbish

By Shwe War Lwin   |   Monday, 24 June 2013

Travel companies say have accused Amarapura residents and local tourists of carelessly dropping litter into Taungthaman Lake, beside the picturesque U Bein Bridge.

Tour guides from the Mandalay branch of the Tourist Guide Association collect rubbish next to U Bein Bridge on June 8. (Shwe War Lwin/The Myanmar Times)

Daw Khin Yu Swe, vice chair of the Mandalay branch of the Tourist Guide Association, said many people were ignoring signs put up by the archaeological department at the bridge that warn visitors not to drop litter.

"Local travellers and residents don't obey the rules. They don't want to carry their trash and put it in a rubbish bin so instead they drop it wherever they want while they are walking along the bridge," Daw Khin Yu Swe said.

"Because of this Taungthaman Lake is littered with all kinds of garbage. If there aren't any food vendors on the bridge then it would be much cleaner," she said.

U Bein Bridge is a major attraction for both foreign and Myanmar tourists in Mandalay Region. Situated about 15 kilometres south of the city proper, in Amarapura township, it spans Taungthaman Lake and is reputedly the longest teak bridge in the world.

"Foreigners don't litter at the lake – it is local people, who lack discipline," railed Ko Win Zaw Oo, a freelance tour guide.

He said previous efforts to tackle the problem had failed and tourist police were needed to enforce anti-littering laws, which allow for on-the-spot fines.

"Last year Mandalay's tour guide association, tourism companies and boatmen collected garbage from underneath the bridge and pasted educational posters on the walls of rest stops along the bridge," he said. "However, people were even littering as the volunteers were collecting rubbish. The posters were removed the following day and we don't know who did it."

Some companies are so worried about the impact litter will have on the country's image as a tourist destination that they are funding efforts to clean the lake.

"Starting from this month, we have appointed two workers to clean the lake," said Ma Ei Mon Ko of Diethelm Travel Myanmar. "Every morning they place wastebaskets on the bridge and they empty them in the evening."

She said the company also plans to put up vinyl signs urging people not to drop litter and added that educative talks should be conducted.

But one resident said the problem was exacerbated by poor garbage collection near the lake.

"The garbage trucks don't often come to U Bein Bridge – normally only once a month. When it comes, it doesn't collect all the garbage so the rest of the trash just sits in piles beside the lake," said the 40-year-old resident.

"And villagers throw away their garbage here and the wind blows it into the lake."

Snack vendor Ma Aye, 27, said that most people who work around the lake understand the importance of keeping it clean. "Vendors normally keep wastebaskets for our rubbish. However, travellers don't use the bins; they just drop the rubbish into the lake. We can't really stop them from doing it so we need the authorities to properly enforce the rules."

– Translated by Thit Lwin

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/06/26/travel-industry-slams-myanmar-tourists-over-rubbish/