‘People are having to sell their land’: in Bagan, Myanmar, as visitors stay away from Unesco World Heritage site after 2021 coup, tourism workers leave to find work, businesses close

Millions of tourists used to visit Myanmar’s ancient temple and pagoda complex each year, but since the military coup in 2021 visitors have stayed away

People around the Unesco World Heritage site who used to depend on tourism are turning to other work and moving to the cities

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Bagan, a Unesco World Heritage site in Myanmar, has almost no visitors, as tourists have stayed away since the military coup in 2021. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:55pm, 13 Sep 2022

Bagan, an ancient city of temples, pagodas and shrines, drew millions of visitors from around the world until the military coup brought tourism to a crashing end.

Its golden pagodas and shrines have been virtually abandoned since the generals seized power in February 2021.

Ko Min, 50, was born in Bagan, and after school, he and his friends used to sell postcards and flowers to the tourists who flocked to the sacred site, to the northwest of the new capital, Naypyidaw. But the lack of visitors due to the coup and the pandemic have had a disastrous impact.

“Normally we can manage but it has been three years now,” he says. “People are having to sell their land.”

A Buddhist monk outside the Sulamani ancient pagoda, in Bagan, in 2019. Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP

He is concerned about what that will mean for Bagan in the future as young people seek jobs elsewhere.