Myanmar received over 4.36 million foreign visitors in 2019, said the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism on Wednesday.

Tourist arrivals of 2019 increased by 23 percent, compared to the same period of the year 2018 when over 3.55 million foreign travellers arrived in Myanmar, the ministry said.

The ministry recently announced granting visa-on-arrivals 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, visa-exemption days were extended to 30 days for Vietnamese tourists in Myanmar starting from the first day of this month.

Meanwhile, the visa exemption pilot program for visitors from Japan, South Korea and China has been recently extended until Sept. 30 this year.

Foreign travellers visit Myanmar mainly through three international airports -- Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, the border gates as well as via luxury cruise liners.