Junta hopes of promoting Chaungtha Beach in Ayeyarwady Region to Russian tourists have proved short-lived as hotels close and locals flee from the advancing Arakan Army (AA).
Chaungtha used to bustle with vacationers from Yangon on holidays and weekends but now lies deserted after fighting between the regime and the AA in neighboring Rakhine spilled over to Ayeyarwady, locals say.
Fighting has come as close as Bawmi village some 48 km away in Pathein District, and all hotel bookings on the beach were canceled.
“Most people don’t feel safe here,” a Chaungthaw local told The Irrawaddy. “Hotels, KTVs, and shops are closed. Many have fled. Yesterday, we were paid to move furniture from a hotel. We moved everything we could, including beds and generators. Only the building and some security guards remain.”
The palm-fringed sands of Chaungtha and nearby Ngwesaung are popular destinations among domestic travelers, and direct flights from Yangon, Pathein, Nyaung-U, and Mandalay were launched last October to attract Russian tourists as well.
A Russian delegation led by the deputy chairman of the State Duma visited Ngwesaung late last year as the junta tried to promote the beach.
There are 13 big hotels on Chaungtha Beach, rising to 18 if adjacent Shwe Thaung Yan Beach is included, with more than 200 smaller hotels and guesthouses dotted around.
“The beach is largely deserted,” a tour guide said. “It used to get very busy during the holiday season and you had to book at least one month in advance.”
He said locals fled when they heard about the fighting in Bawmi.
“Some hotels are still open, but many are making preparations. They have moved their generators and reduced staff, and some are no longer accepting new bookings,” he added.
But in Ngwesaung down the coast, many hotels are still operating.
A Ngwesaung tour operator said: “Hotels don’t close here, and there are visitors, though some have canceled their bookings.”
The AA on Monday said it captured some junta positions on the Ayeyarwady-Rakhine border while fighting continues in rural Yegyi Township. AA troops advanced on Ayeyarwady after capturing Gwa at the southernmost tip of Rakhine last month but for now seem to be moving east toward the Irrawaddy River rather than south down the coast.
The world-famous Ngapali Beach in Rakhine’s Thandwe already fell to rebels last June.
