The annual event offered opportunity for tourism destinations and companies around the world to exhibit their products to travel industries and major outbound markets in India.

The tourism council of Bhutan (TCB), comprising 13 tour operators and hoteliers, including Druk Air, received a prize for “best decoration” of the Bhutan stall.

On the sidelines of the fair, TCB director general held a series of meetings with several high-end Indian outbound tour operators, who expressed their interest in promoting Bhutan as a tourism destination.

source: kuensel

The GNH commission and a team of experts from McKinsey and company, a consultancy firm, have recently projected an increase in tourist arrival to 250,000 annually within the next three to five years. The number includes high-end as well as regional tourists.

The number is the result of an in depth analysis, looking at the current policies, access, infrastructure, capacity and areas that require change to achieve the proposed number, said GNH secretary Karma Tshiteem.

However, there have been two targets and projections on the increase of tourist arrival in the next three years: one set by the government for the 10th five year plan and other by the association for Bhutanese tour operators (ABTO).

The government’s target was to see an annual tourist arrival of 100,000 by the end of the 10th Plan. The 250,000 tourists arrival is five times what ABTO had projected. ABTO’s target is to receive 50,000 dollar-paying tourists annually by 2013.

Our target of 50,000 and direct revenue of about USD 70m is based on the existing capacity, rules and regulations and policies, said ABTO secretary general Sonam D Dorji. The figure is also based on a very modest increase of 20 percent every year for the next five years.

Bhutan has been seeing an increase of about 35 percent tourist annually in the last five years. About 22,000 tourists visited the country in 2007 and there were 28,000 tourists in 2008. About 10,000 non-dollar paying regional tourists also visit Bhutan yearly.

If we are to have 250,000 tourists arriving in the country a year, a lot of change is needed because the number is huge, almost one third of our population, said an ABTO official. If we spread the number throughout the year, we’ll see about 685 tourists a day.

GNH secretary Karma Tshiteem said that the consultants reached the number by spreading the tourists throughout the country and the calendar year.

The prospect of 250,000 tourists annually has been seen through a lot of groundwork,he said.

ABTO officials and tour operators however, said that there were many limitations. For instance, there are only two Drukair flights operating with a 228-passenger capacity.

If they fly 365 days a year on full capacity of dollar paying tourists, it comes to about 83,220 a year. On the other hand, the demand of Bhutanese flying overseas is growing every year, said an official.The 250,000 tourists a year might seem ambitious looking at the current situation. Even with 28,000 tourists arrival last year, there was so much pressure on the two aircrafts in terms of capacity, on the number of qualified well trained guides, on transport, accommodation, ponies during trekking season and so on.

Another ABTO official said: To accommodate 250,000 tourists a year, the number one job would be to ensure coordination between the various sectors, such as home and cultural affairs, economic affairs, agriculture, communication to ensure smooth arrangements for tourists. Coordination is the challenge today.

Meanwhile, GNH secretary Karma Tshiteem said that the project team is still working on the details of the project and the proposal would be released once the final draft is complete.

source: kuensel

The white bulbous head mushroom, grown mostly in the wild pine forests of Thimphu and Bumthang, attracts over 30 to 40 Japanese tourists every year to Bhutan. The pine (matsu) mushroom (take) is the most anticipated of autumn flavours and greatly cherished as a gift and symbolises fertility, good fortune and happiness by Japanese, said Japanese guest assistant and sales manager of hotel Amankora in Thimphu, Sakiko Okazak.
This month alone, Amankora lodge will host a group of 20 Japanese tourists, who came to enjoy the flavour and freshness of matsutake. The group will stay for around two weeks, spending USD 4,000 to 4,800 for three-night in the hotel.

Low in fat, high in protein and rich in vitamin B, the highly prized fungi is believed to have many health benefits. The matsutake gastronomy dinner costing USD 70 per person is being served at Amankora, prepared by a Japanese chef, Hiroyuki Asano. The meal is also made affordable for Bhutanese with Amankora charging only USD 20 for locals. Chef Hiroyuki Asano has come from Japan to prepare matsutake meals for Japanese and other tourists. During a weeklong stay in Thimphu, Hiroyuki will also train Bhutanese chefs.

In Bhutan, Sangay shamu is mostly found at Genekha, Thimphu. It grows under trees and is usually concealed under fallen leaves or duff layers. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the roots of a limited number of tree species.

The mushroom became popular after Japan started importing it at a very good price. According to the agriculture ministry, matsutake was the highest priced of all the mushrooms in Japan. Good quality matsutake fetched about Nu 3,000 a kg in Japan. Bhutan has been exporting the mushroom to Japan since 1991.

source: kuensel

7 August: Not everything is hunky dory with Bhutan’s main hard currency source and the country’s second largest revenue earner – the tourism industry. There are many issues that need to be addressed by the government for the industry’s growth, according to the association of Bhutanese tour operators (ABTO), who presented their problems to the government on Wednesday. The major issues, they say, are with the inconsistent Drukair flights, rules and regulations for visa, dress codes, permits and fees by agencies.

As of July end, 810 tourists, confirmed to visit Bhutan in September-October, are still on a waiting list of the Druk Air flight schedule. This translates to USD 1.2m in revenue, says ABTO.

The frequency of flights to shorter sectors, if increased, would benefit all sectors with more number of tourist arrivals, said the general secretary of ABTO, Sonam Dorji. If proper and advance planning or management could be instituted by Drukair, we feel that the frequency of flights could be increased.

Drukair, being the single operator deciding not to operate flights that are not commercially viable, has a larger impact on the stakeholders and the economy, said ABTO.

Tour operators point out that last minute announcements of change in schedules and withdrawal of flights hamper the working environment of tour operators and dealings with foreign agents. Planning of schedules and routes were necessary in this case, they said.

However the general manger of Drukair, Tshering Penjor, said that, though they have the capacity to increase the frequency of flights, they have to see the commercial viability. Increased frequency would also increase cost and it has to be justified with the increasing traffic as well, he said, adding that the frequency of flights last year and this year is fairly similar.

With regard to change in schedules, we always announce and notify beforehand to all passengers and through ABTO as well, said Tshering Penjor.

Kinzang Lham, general manager of Norbu Bhutan travels, said, “As per the travel itinerary, we book hotel rooms and, when the flight is cancelled or the dates changed, we have to pay the hotel. Moreover, guests have to re-book their tickets, which they pay themselves. SOmetimes they cancel their trip.

Sonam Dorji said that there should be a uniform rule applicable for dress codes, permits to visit dzongs or courtyards and fees by agencies. The present rule allows visitors to dzong courtyards in some places, while it’s restricted in others and, with a new administrator in the area, there is change in rules instead of following the circular already in place.

The fees charged by the government-owned museums and parks increase without prior notification or value for money that affects the tour costing. So, there should be a uniform rule, said Sonam Dorji.

Records show that over the years, tourist arrival has increased from 9,249 in 2004 to 27,636 last year. Similarly, revenue generated increased from USD 12.5m in 2004 to USD 38.8m, last year. Revenue earned in terms of royalty was USD 4.34m in 2004 and USD 13.8m last year.

source: kuensel

Over 70,000 people visited the exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco in 79 days. This is a new record for the museum.

On May 10, the last day of the exhibition, over 6,000 people came to see the sacred arts of Bhutan. Bhutanese monks, who are participating in the exhibition, consecrated two sand mandalas.

Dragon’s gift: The sacred arts of Bhutan began its journey in the US from Honolulu and ended on May 10 in San Francisco. It will now be exhibited in France then travel to Germany and finally end in Switzerland in October next year.

The Dragon’s Gift is the first exhibition of Bhutan’s sacred arts in the United States. The exhibition made its first call at the Hawaii’s Honolulu Academy of Art in February.

Source: kuensel

The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan in Geneva hosted a reception in honour of the photographic exhibition on 7 April 2009 at the La Cite du Temps gallery. The reception was attended by about 120 guests, among whom, gracing the occasion were Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland, ambassadors, friends and well wishers of Bhutan.

H.E. the ambassador Yeshey Dorji, permanent representative of the kingdom of Bhutan in Geneva, Switzerland, in his address to the gathering, provided a brief historical background of the sacred mask dance and its importance to the cultural heritage of the Bhutanese. John Alexander Sutin, the sponsor of the photographic project, also gave a short address explaining his interest in photography and remarked that he was most pleased with the quality of photographs exhibited.

Source: kuenselonline

The Wanderlust Travel Awards is on their 8th year and is voted by nearly 3,000 consumers and based on customer satisfaction levels over the past year. The Paro International Airport was listed as number 2 on the list of 10 Top Airports worldwide.

Wanderlust is a travel magazine based in the United Kingdom. This magazine has been in production for the last 15 years.