MADRID, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Myanmar, formerly known as Burma and currently the scene of mass protest against the country's military junta, is one of the least visited states in Asia.

Just 264,000 foreigners visited last year, although that represented a 13.5 percent rise on 2005, according to the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization (WTO), of which the country is not a member.

A WTO spokesman declined to comment on the current uncertainty in Myanmar, where this week tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have marched in the streets in defiance of the military junta in Yangon.

According to the latest available WTO figures from last year Myanmar attracts fewer visitors than almost anywhere else in Asia.

Only the tiny mountainous kingdom of Bhutan, with 17,00 visitors, and Bangladesh (200,000) received fewer tourists in Asia in 2006.

By comparison, neighbouring Thailand received 13.88 million foreign visitors in 2006.

According to the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, which groups major travel organisations, tourist-related activity in Myanmar was set to generate a billion dollars (700 million euros) this year for a 6.7 percent share of GDP.

The WTTC added that 1.349 million Burmese jobs, or 6.1 percent of the total, were dependent on the sector.

The organisation forecast that tourism would see growth this year of 5.5 percent.