Best Western to Open First Location in Burma

Best Western hotels has announced that they have plans to open their first hotel in Burma. USA Today reported that the hotel chain has signed a deal with the Green Hill Hotel to take over management of it. The property is located in Yangon which is Burma's largest city.

"The Southeast Asian country, also known as Myanmar, had been closed off to most tourists for years. But two years after the government released Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi from 15 years of house arrest, the tourism industry is booming. A series of government reforms has also facilitated more foreign investment," reported USA Today.

There has been an increase in tourism to Burma with a million visitors traveling to the country last year. Now, there are less than 800 hotels for visitors to stay in the country.

The Green Hill Hotel will be operated by Best Western International.

"There is no doubt that Myanmar is one of the world's hottest hotel markets at present, with a major increase in new hotel supply needed to cater for a huge influx of guests," Glenn de Souza, Best Western's vice president of international operations for Asia and the Middle East, said in a written statement to USA Today. "So it is vital that hotel owners in the country choose the right partners to ensure optimum performance at their properties."

De Souza believes there is a lot of opportunity in Burma.

"There are huge opportunities in the country, following new investment regulations," de Souza said to Bloomberg. "The hotel sector is severely under-supplied, especially in the mid-scale segment, so there will be big opportunities for first movers."

Senior vice president and director of business development at Lodging Econometrics which is a a hotel real estate consulting firm, Bruce Ford, said that he thinks it will take time for Best Western to have a large presence in the country.

"It will take time to build the supply there because there are not many locations that could be converted," he said to USA Today. "Newly constructed hotels may be 3 to 4 years in the making."

"Many major franchise companies would love to find locations and sites to bring into their family of brands because of the change in foreign investment laws," he added.