Tourists urged to avoid Myanmar as junta prepares to reopen to world

Travel agents and aid workers raise issues of safety and note that tourism dollars will only benefit the ruling military

Foreign tourists have been urged to avoid visiting Myanmar after the junta signalled plans to open up the country despite widespread ongoing rights abuses and violence including kidnappings and killings by the military, as well as food shortages and regular blackouts.

More than a year after it seized power and ousted Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's military has announced it plans to reopen for tourism and resume international flights on 17 April.