Myanmar will formally apply e-visa for all foreign tourists from September 1 in an effort to attract visitors to the country, the Ministry of Immigration and Population announced on August 13.

The system, which started on August 10 on a trial basis for a limited number of applications, will ensure all tourists who want to visit Myanmar get e-visa within five days, the ministry said on its website.

According to tourism authorities, Myanmar welcomed 1.2 million visitors in the first five months of this year and expects to lure around 3 million arrivals by the year end.

To meet the growing number of foreign tourist arrivals, the country is building more hotels by foreign investment. Official statistics show that there are over 900 hotels, motels and inns in Myanmar with more than 38,700 rooms available.

Since the civilian government took office in 2011, the number of visitors to Myanmar has remarkably increased, reaching 2.04 million last year. Of them, those from Asia accounted for 70 percent while others from Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East also climbed.-VNA