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UK tour operator Cox & Kings' recent decision to resume trips to Burma is based on false information, claims Tourism Concern and the Burma Campaign UK. Below is the letter sent by Tourism Concern to Cox and Kings' CEO, followed by the company's response.

1st July 2010

Dear Mr Kerkar

We were deeply dismayed to read in Travel Weekly of 26th June that, on the strength of a false statement originating from the Telegraph in August 2009, Cox & Kings is reviving group tours and tailor-made travel to Burma.

In fact, the Telegraph was informed at the time that the story was inaccurate by the Burma Campaign UK. The claim of inaccuracy is based on two counts. Firstly, the article stated that the source heard from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi regarding her changed stance on tourism before her trial, while she was under house arrest and when nobody could visit her. Secondly, if Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), had changed their policy, they would simply say so. There was and is now no need for secret unnamed sources to release the information. The NLD has not made any such statement.

Furthermore, following the publication of the inaccurate article, Nyan Win, lawyer for Aung San Suu Kyi, met with her and asked her if the reports were correct. She reportedly confirmed that she had not recently discussed the issue with anyone.

The article also misquoted Tourism Concern as saying that we believed Aung San Suu Kyi’s statement that tourists should return to Burma to be true. We never believed that she had said this and this is what we told the Telegraph.

The policy of a tourism boycott is not a personal policy of Aung San Suu Kyi, it is the policy of her Party, the NLD, as well as of many other Burmese pro-democracy organisations. Companies and others who are opposed to the tourism boycott have frequently used the fact that Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest to claim she has changed her mind on tourism and other policies in the knowledge that she is unable to counter any such claims due to her continued incarceration. Aung San Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy leaders have clearly stated that, should they change their policies, they are perfectly capable of saying so. Thus, at the present time, the call for a tourism boycott remains.

Cox & Kings are reported as saying that their clients will have the opportunity to see the situation in the country for themselves. If only it were as simple as that. I’m sure you are aware that vast swathes of the country, including where many of the worst human rights abuses occur, are out of bounds to tourists. Furthermore, Burmese citizens put themselves at great risk if they talk about the real situation in their country with foreigners.

We feel that the timing of Cox and King's announcement is particularly unfortunate given that, less than two weeks ago on 19th June, Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 65th birthday under house arrest following 15 years in detention, and that in May the NLD was effectively blocked from participating in the forthcoming elections, which have been condemned in the UK and all around the world as an attempt to entrench and legitimize the regime’s brutal military rule.

In light of the above, Tourism Concern very much hopes that Cox and King’s will reconsider its decision to recommence trips to Burma. Given your prominent market position and as one of the world’s longest established travel companies, we are deeply concerned that, on the basis of false information, other tour operators may follow suit.

Please be advised that we will be publishing this letter on our website. We would also be happy to publish any response you provide.

Yours sincerely,

Patricia Barnett
Tourism Concern

RESPONSE FROM COX & KINGS

9 July 2010

I am writing on behalf of Cox & Kings' CEO, Peter Kerkar, in response to your letter to him of 2nd July regarding Cox & Kings' introduction of tours to Burma. Our position is as follows:

Cox & Kings has always taken its policy regarding the operation of tours in Burma seriously and we held off from organising travel to the country for many years, even though some other UK operators were doing so. The Daily Telegraph's article in August 2009 prompted us to review our policy, which ultimately led us to decide to start offering tours to the country. We have double checked with the Daily Telegraph and they have informed us that although they could not reveal their source, they remain confident of the accuracy of the story and the authority of the source. We also considered the opinions of various other informed sources when reviewing this issue.

Regards,

Philip Hamilton-Grierson

Tourism Concern also wrote to Travel Weekly, which ran the article announcing the UK tour operator's decision on 26th June 2010.