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According
to tourism officials and tour operators, the success was a combination
of many things like the increase in the number of travellers globally,
increase in Drukair's capacity with the two new aircraft, and marketing
done through international travel writers and international tourism fairs.
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Positive
media attention with the introduction of international hotels and publicity
received by government policy changes continued promoting Bhutan in the
international tourism scene in 2005, the officials said.
Promoting
Bhutan with other sub-region countries like Bangladesh, India and Nepal
as Buddhist heartland and eco-tourism destination had also contributed
substantially. Word of mouth was the most effective and far-reaching promoting
tool for Bhutan, according to tour operators and officials.
"It
was about 60 percent increase for our company and we were overwhelmed,"
said the general manager of Bhutan Tourism Corporation Limited, Thinley
Wangchuk. The company brought in the highest number, 1,843 tourists. Etho
Metho brought in 1,549 tourists and Yangphel brought 891 tourists.
Thinley
Wangchuk said that the place Bhutan had found in the international tourism
market was not sudden but had taken years of ups and downs and focus on
services and infrastructure. |
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While
professionalism was still wanting in the industry it was developing, tour
operators said. Both the government and private sector were taking initiatives
in promoting professionalism in the industry.
The
hotel and tourism management institute, funded by the Austrian government,
will be established by 2008, tourism officials said. Tour operators also
bring in experts to train their staff.
The
year also saw the drafting of the tourism master plan, tourism law and
tour operators' regulation in consultation with various stakeholders of
the industry like hoteliers, tour operator, travel agents and handicraft
dealers.
The
private sector in general appreciated the development initiatives taken
by the government but the views differed on the new liberal pricing policy.
The
policy prescribes a tariff of US $ 100 royalty a day and a liberal package
breaking away from the present all-inclusive package.
Some
tour operators said that the new policy would reduce their profits that
were already affected by inflation. Others said it was a good initiative
because if the government lost control over the industry it would be driven
by profits alone.
The
director general of the tourism department, Lhatu Wangchuk, said that the
development of the sector was largely being done by the department which
otherwise should be an authority involved only in policy making, marketing
and monitoring.
"There
are only a handful of people who invest in the industry in terms of both
infrastructure and human resource," he said.
The
years ahead looked promising for the industry and, according to Lhatu Wangchuk,
a target of 15,000 tourists by the end of the Ninth Plan period could be
achieved a year earlier.
"But
this would mean catching up with infrastructure, manpower, guides, hotels,
hotel staff and so on," he said, adding that there were many new hotels
coming up in the country, including in the eastern dzongkhags.
However,
he said, that the industry was very vulnerable and if the industry faced
problems like natural disasters or epidemics there was nothing to fall
back on. Domestic tourism had not picked up in Bhutan unlike in other countries.
In
terms of the social and cultural impact of tourism the tshechu festivals,
especially in the urban areas of Thimphu and Paro, were getting over-crowded
so a surcharge maybe introduced by the department. The department and tour
operators are also promoting tshechu festivals in other dzongkhags to break
even the pressure. Many tourists, say tour operators, have also started
to request for tshechus in other districts apart from Thimphu and Paro
tshechus because they had become "modern".
Breaking
away the seasonality (spring and autumn) of tourism in Bhutan may be possible
with the route from Guwahati, India, to Samdrup Jongkhar likely to be opened
for tourism this year benefiting the eastern region.
According
to tourism monitor, 2004, the tourist impact on Thimphu and Paro was the
highest with over 24 percent of the total nights spent by tourists in these
dzongkhags. Zhemgang and Lhuentse received no tourists while Haa and Gasa
had about one percent.
Contributed
by Kinley Wangmo, KUENSEL, Bhutan's national newspaper, 2006 |
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