YANGON -- Myanmar's Hotel and Tourism Ministry Tuesday announced granting visa-on-arrivals to tourists from five countries starting from Jan 1 next year.

The relaxation will be effective to ordinary passport holders from Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg and New Zealand, who will enter Myanmar through Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports, for a three-year probation period until Dec 31, 2022.

Also, the agreement to grant up to 30 days of visa-exempted stay for Vietnamese tourists in Myanmar starting from Jan 1, 2020 was reached during the official visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar earlier this month.

From January to October this year, Myanmar received over 3.5 million tourists, showing an increase from over 2.8 million in the same period of last year, the ministry's figures showed.