Myanmar tourism up

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This item appears on page 18 of the September 2013 issue.

The number of visitors to Myanmar reached over one million in 2012 and is expected to double in 2013. Government reforms, investment in tourism infrastructure and the lifting of the European Union sanctions on trade in March 2013 are encouraging more travelers to visit. 

However, human rights groups are still concerned over whether funds from tourism benefit local people rather than subsidize the government. There has also been ongoing ethnic and religious violence within the population plus, in the northern region, fighting between the government and separatist rebels.