The government will defer land lease payments for six months for a total of 47 state-owned and private hotels in Myanmar to ease the pressure wrought by COVID-19, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism announced on April 21.
The next land lease payment is due September 30. Hotels which are no longer in operation are not included.
"In general, the land leases for 26 state-owned hotels and 21 hotels run by foreign investors or as part of joint ventures with local partners have been deferred," said U Myo Myint, director of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
Due to the spread of COVID-19 spread in Myanmar and the rest of the world, tourist arrivals to Myanmar have collapsed and hotel and tourism businesses have been severely affected.
U Thiha Aung, the vice-chair of the Myanmar Hotelier Association (Yangon Zone), said the government should consider an exemption of land lease payments. "As a business owner, I have to demand an exemption from payment instead of postponement," he said.
The announcement comes after the ministry on April 16 announced that Myanmar hotel and tour businesses will be exempted from paying licence fees for a period of one year as the sector struggles against the COVID-19 pandemic.
