Should travellers ostracise Myanmar to fight a regime?

Bagan in Myanmar is famous among tourists who go there to visit its beautiful temples. Will tourism in the country survive the current coup? — GoAsean

Once Covid-19 has been sufficiently tamed with stiff arms and stout hearts, attention will turn once again to travel and, for so many, an all too familiar leitmotif has re-emerged – the continuing tragedy of Myanmar. As George Orwell wrote in Burmese Days, published in 1934, “Beauty is meaningless, until it is shared.”

While this quote by John Flory, the lonely young white protagonist with only sparrows and a mosquito net for company touched upon his craving for human succour, he may well have been writing about the country itself, beautiful, mysterious, tormented, secluded, and shrouded in secrecy. A magnet, equally, for travellers, sanctions, and trade embargoes.