U OhnMaung made the comments at a workshop on sustainable tourism organized by the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB) and Myanmar Responsible Tourism Institute (MRTI) attended by Union and state lawmakers, local business people, civil society groups, and tourism and environmental experts at Ngapali beach this week.

“We need to manage tourism sustainably, minimize the negative and maximize the positive impacts of these visitors, and work together to make Ngapali a better place to visit and to live in,” U OhnMaung told the gathered stakeholders.

The minister noted that as waste management was identified as the key challenge (55% of participants said it was their biggest concern), this would have to be remedied before the ministry developed transport links.

Chairman of Ngapali City Development Committee U Saw Lwin said local authorities had recently acquired three new landfill sites and stakeholders committed to combatting litter with less plastic bags and plastic water bottles in hotels, more bins, and a public education campaign.

Other environmental issues such as combatting sand mining and mangrove deforestation were also discussed, as were issues such as sex tourism and limiting properties near the beach to a 10 meter height.