Myanmar has formed an independent tourist police force that will begin patrolling tourist areas in April, according to the Myanmar Tourist Guide Association.
Local reports indicate 140 officers will be assigned to tourist sites in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Shan State and the administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw.
The rapid growth of the tourist industry had led to a shortage of hotel rooms and guides and a rise in illegal businesses.
Unprofessional guides had entered the business and tourist police were necessary to control them, said a Guide Association spokesman.
Myanmar has been rocked recently following religious violence between Buddhists and Muslims in which 32 people died in Mandalay region, and nearly 10,000 were left hopeless.
