Obama's visit to Burma increases its tourist profile

President Obama's visit to Burma today is putting the spotlight on a country that has long been a shadowy entity even among the well-traveled. But since the once-reclusive nation began ushering in democratic reforms last year, it's been popping up on many "where to go now" lists.

Demand for tours to Burma, also known as Myanmar, continue to grow after a tourism boycott was lifted last year. Tourist arrivals rose by 20% in 2011, according to the Myanmar Times. Still, the 816,000 tally is tiny compared with the 19 million visitors who flooded neighboring Thailand last year.

"Today, Burma is one of the hottest destinations in the world following the encouragement by Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of foreign visitors," said Alan E. Lewis, chairman of Grand Circle Corp. "It's no surprise that demand is high; the country is full of incredible history, culture and people."

Grand Circle Cruise Line will begin small-ship (34-passenger) cruise tours to Burma next year. Rates start at about $240 a day for the 15-day tour. An affiliated tour operator, Overseas Adventure Travel, commenced tours to the country in January, expecting to get about 450 bookings in 2012. More than double that number signed on and they're gearing up to take 1,300 travelers in 2013, said a spokeswoman.

But the rush of travelers has created a shortage of hotel rooms.

"We especially need more hotels. We need big-chain hotels," Kyi Kyi Aye, a consultant to the Myanmar Tourism Board told the Associated Press. "Tourism is booming and that means we have many challenges to overcome."

"The airport now receives twice as many visitors as it was built for," Khin Mi Mi Tin, of the tourism ministry, told reporters covering Obama's visit Sunday. "We are building more hotels, but even the new hotels are fully booked."

Savvy travelers like Sandy and Bill Hitchcock of Laguna Beach, Calif., who arrived Sunday in the capital city of Rangoon for a nine-day tour of the country, are getting a look at the place sooner than later.

"I want to see it before it becomes the next big tourist trap," Sandy Hitchcock, 63, told USA TODAY's Calum MacLeod.