One of the leading guides in south-east Asia has said it will conduct no more research in Myanmar (Burma) in the wake of the imprisonment of two Reuters reporters investigating the persecution of Rohingya muslims.

Stuart McDonald, founder of independent guide Travelfish, said that he had suspended coverage of the country after news emerged last year of the “genocide” taking place in the Rakhine state, and that the “farce” trial of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, both jailed for seven years for violating a state secrets act, has reinforced his decision. He said all revenue from hotel bookings in Myanmar made through the Travelfish website would be donated to the families of the journalists.

“When Burma experienced its democratic gains five years ago there was considerable optimism where the country would head, but those hopes were buried in the ashes of the genocide in the west of the country,” said McDonald.

“At that time, Travelfish suspended our research to the country, as we felt that the popular support in much of the country for what was happening in Rakhine made travel there, for us, unconscionable. That the government has now elected to imprison those responsible for raising international awareness of what was actually happening has sadly only reinforced our belief that our decision was the best approach.”

McDonald said Travelfish would consider updating its information should the situation in Myanmar change.

The country - and its Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader, Aung San Suu Kyi - have been subjected to international condemnation for imprisoning the two journalists, who were collecting evidence about the murders of 10 Rohingya men by the army last September. The persecution of the Islamic minority in the west of the country has been denounced as “a textbook example ethnic cleansing” by the UN, while Suu Kyi has been criticised for her failure to speak out against the violence that has affected nearly a million people.

The controversy, however, has done little to encourage other operators to boycott the country, with Travelfish in the minority for its decision to halt coverage.

Visitors flocked to Myanmar after western sanctions were lifted 2012 Credit: GEtty

Liddy Pleasants, the managing director of Stubborn Mule Travel, said she does not agree with a travel boycott.

“I do understand the reasons for the boycott, but I personally strongly feel that any action that encourages isolationism is counter-productive and runs the risk of further entrenching the current political environment,” she said. “My view is that tourism brings with it an exposure to an international viewpoint that in this situation can only be a good thing. In a country with very little internal (impartial) news about what is happening to the Rohingya, I feel that the presence of tourists and the discussions that this might engender is a good thing.

“More generally, I also feel that tourism brings much needed income to rural communities and that again the removal of this income can exacerbate problems within the country as a whole.”

She said that, as UK travellers are only a small percentage of the arrivals into Myanmar, a boycott by Britons would have minimal impact.

Justin Francis, CEO of Responsible Travel, said though the tour operator was appalled by what is happening in the country, that does not mean that a tourism boycott is the correct response.

Rohingya refugees on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border Credit: GEtty

“Many are calling for a second tourism boycott of Myanmar [the first was in response to the authoritarian junta rule before Suu Kyi’s release from prison], but at Responsible Travel, we do not believe that this will have the desired impact at all,” the tour operator says on its website.

“Given the recent tourism boom, there are now many Burmese people working in tourism, and withdrawing now would harm these local businesses. Rather than impacting the government, jobs and livelihoods would be lost, and it's the citizens - the vast majority of whom have absolutely nothing to do with the crisis in Rakhine - who would suffer.

“This is a political crisis, and it needs a political solution; a tourism boycott will not make any difference to the corrupt leadership.”

Gill Charlton, Telegraph Travel Myanmar’s expert, said last year that she believed tourists should continue to visit the country.

“It’s important to keep the fledgling tourist industry alive as so many small poor communities rely on it,” she said. “Staying away isn’t going to change the government’s treatment of the Rohingya community as tourism from Britain and other Western countries is a very small part of their revenue.”

The Foreign Office still advises against all but essential travel to the Rakhine state, where much of the violence has taken place, but much of the country is safe to visit.

The FCO warned travellers in August to be vigilant around the first anniversary of the Rakhine attacks.