Solimar Signs North American Tourism Marketing Representation Agreement with Myanmar Tourism Federation

Solimar International is pleased to announce that we have signed a three-year contract to represent the Myanmar Tourism Federation (MTF) in North America. Together, MTF and Solimar will work to position Myanmar as an exciting, exotic and undiscovered destination for North American tourists.

Myanmar has an untouched quality that gives visitors the experience of feeling like they are the first to stumble upon its floating gardens and golden temples. In order to maintain this feeling of novelty, we will work with MTF to support sustainable, long-term growth for the Myanmar tourism sector by attracting high-value, low impact tourists to minimize tourist influence on Myanmar’s fragile environment.

OUR OBJECTIVES

Specifically, Solimar’s objectives are:

1. To effectively communicate the unique selling points of Myanmar to North American trade, media and tourists
2. To ensure that the Myanmar message reaches a receptive audience
3. To increase the number of North American tourists and their length of stay in Myanmar, and to create repeat visitation
4. To support market access for Myanmar’s small and medium sized enterprises

OUR APPROACH

Solimar is taking a five-pronged approach to provide marketing representation to MTF. 

1. We will open an MTF office in Washington, DC that will respond to inquiries from tourists, travel trade, and media. The MTF office will regularly meet with the Myanmar Embassy in DC to identify potential areas of collaboration. 
2. We will work with media to identify compelling storylines and host press trips for top journalists. As North American tourists are consistently inspired by stories in the media, it is vital that these stories reflect Myanmar’s unique characteristics accurately. 
3. We will work to develop strong partnerships between Myanmar inbound tour operators and outbound North American operators. In order to do this, Solimar will organize familiarization trips to ensure that North American tour operators have experienced Myanmar firsthand, creating passionate brand ambassadors and educated sales people. Furthermore, Solimar will work with trade operators currently selling Myanmar to ensure that they are up to date on new niche activities, and are able to market the destination with the accurate, remarkable content they need.
4. We will work to optimize Myanmar travel and create a robust online presence for MTF. This will include content creation around a trade and media page, as well as the creation of a simple social media strategy for Facebook and Instagram. 
5. We will attend strategic trade events in North America on behalf of MTF in order to meet with trade and media partners to build relationships.

Both Solimar and MTF are committed to ensuring that tourism continues to provide an important contribution to Myanmar’s economy. The Minister of Hotels and Tourism, H.E. Htay Aung has referred to the partnership as a “milestone in our history.” Solimar is also very excited about this opportunity to help market one of Asia’s most unique up-and-coming travel destinations.