News – Page 2 – BIIB Blog

Bhutan and Singapore connected: Drukair 2 flights a week

Month-long activities to introduce visitors to the Land of the Thunder Dragon

Changi Airport welcomes Drukair of Bhutan

Theodore Koumelis – 28 August 2012, 12:29 (courtesy of Travel Daily News)

In 2011, about 1,300 visitors from Singapore headed for Bhutan, representing an increase of more than 70% over 2010. Bhutan received over 64,000 visitors in 2011.

SINGAPORE – Changi Airport today welcomed the arrival of Drukair, the national carrier of theKingdom of Bhutan, which is situated in the Himalayas between China and India. Continue reading

Journey To Bhutan

U.N. Happiness Conference in NYC April 02, 2012: Agenda

REALISING THE WORLD WE ALL WANT: LAUNCH EVENT

HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON WELLBEING AND HAPPINESS: DEFINING A NEW ECONOMIC PARADIGM

Hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan, 2nd April 2012, Conference Room 1 (North Lawn Building), United Nations Headquarters, New York City

DRAFT AGENDA

Saturday, 31st March & Sunday, 1st April 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. – Registration at the Permanent Mission of Bhutan, 343 East 43rd Street, New York

Monday, 2nd April 8 – 8.40 a.m. – Security Check at the UN Visitor’s Gate (First Avenue, 45 – 46 Street) and

Registration 8 – 8.40 a.m. – Registration at Conference Room 1 for delegates of Member States

8.50 a.m. – All participants to be seated in Conference Room 1

9 –10.00 a.m. – Inaugural Session Chair: H.E. Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme and the Former Prime Minister of New Zealand

9.00 – 9.03 a.m. – Welcome address by H.E. Helen Clark 9.03 – 9.09 a.m. – Address by H.E. Mr. Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan (On the mission and purpose of the meeting) 9.09 – 9.12 a.m. – Inaugural address by H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations 9.12 – 9.15 a.m. – Address by H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly 9.15 – 9.18 a.m. – Address by H.E. Mr. Miloš Koterec, President of the Economic and Social Council 9.18 – 9.28 a.m. – Keynote address by H.E. Ms. Laura Chinchilla, Honourable President of the Republic of Costa Rica (The Republic of Costa Rica is universally recognised for its outstanding achievements in environmental conservation and its exemplary sustainable development record) …For more refer www.2apr.gov.bt

Bhutan to host the U.N. Happiness Conference April 2-5, 2012 in NYC

The U.N. Happiness Project By TIMOTHY W. RYBACK* (NY Times)

March 28, 2012 : Next Monday, the United Nations will implement Resolution 65/309, adopted unanimously by the General Assembly in July 2011, placing “happiness” on the global agenda. “Conscious that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal” and “recognizing that the gross domestic product […] does not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of people,” Resolution 65/309 empowers the Kingdom of Bhutan to convene a high-level meeting on happiness as part of next week’s 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. An impressive array of luminaries will be speaking for this remote Himalayan kingdom. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will open the meeting via a prerecorded video missive. The Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz will speak on “happiness indicators,” as will the economist Jeffrey Sachs. The Bhutanese prime minister will represent King Jigme Khesar Namgyel, the reigning Dragon King of the Bhutanese House of Wangchuck. (The kingdom became a constitutional monarchy in 2007.) For the 32-year-old Dragon King — Bhutan means “land of dragons” in the local Dzongkha language — U.N. Resolution 65/309 represents a global public relations triumph and the realization of a hereditary ambition, initiated by his grandfather 40 years ago, to establish Gross National Happiness (G.N.H.) as an alternate model to Gross National Product (G.N.P.) as a measure of national progress. Continue reading Bhutan to host the U.N. Happiness Conference April 2-5, 2012 in NYC

The elusive Snow Leopard caught on camera

Courtesy: The Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Bhutan , WWF and Kuensel newspaper

The elusive Snow Leopard caught on camera (You tube video)

Snow leopards disappearing?

The cats’ coming into conflict with humans is the main threat to its population in Bhutan
A preliminary snow leopard prey survey conducted recently at the Wangchuck Centennial Park using camera traps revealed several footages of snow leopards and its prey.Watch another video
The study, worth Nu 2M, World Wildlife Fund officials said would focus on the snow leopard population and their places of existence to help prioritise the best areas for conservation. Continue reading The elusive Snow Leopard caught on camera

Bhutanese royal wedding to be held in October 2011

Source: BBC 20 may 2011: The 31-year-old king of the Himalayan nation of Bhutan has said that he intends to marry in October, local media report.

The British-educated Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck said his future wife, 20-year-old student Jetsun Pema, would be a “great servant to the nation”.

Wangchuck is widely revered in the country of some 700,000 people.

The king took over after the abdication in 2006 of his father, who began the country’s democratic transition. Continue reading Bhutanese royal wedding to be held in October 2011

Bhutan’s 31-year-old king to marry in October 2011

Friday, 20th May, 2011: This morning, I attended the opening of the 7th session of the Parliament and to everyones’ surprise (a pleasant one), His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, possessing a warm smile, announced his wedding with Jetsun Pema. I almost clapped. The royal wedding is to be held in October this year. It is a joyous day in Bhutan. A welcome news indeed!

Courtesy: http://www.facebook.com/KingJigmeKhesar

Ashi Jetsun Pema (Pic source: Bhutan Observer)

Fri May 20, by Adam Plowright (AFP)

NEW DELHI (AFP) – The 31-year-old king of Bhutan, an Oxford-educated bachelor crowned in the remote Himalayan country in 2008, set up another royal wedding on Friday by announcing his engagement.

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who helped usher in democracy in the Buddhist nation, revealed his intention to marry 20-year-old student Jetsun Pema during an address to parliament.

“As king, it is now time for me to marry. After much thought I have decided that the wedding shall be later this year,” he announced, according to a copy of the speech sent to AFP.

“While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart and character,” he said of the future queen, who appeared in traditional Bhutanese dress in a joint picture released of the couple.

The announcement clears the way for another wedding in a year of royal nuptials that has already seen Britain’s Prince William marry Kate Middleton in London in an event that captured the world’s attention. Continue reading Bhutan’s 31-year-old king to marry in October 2011

The Value of Blogger Press Trips

Interview with Jordan Tourism Board’s Managing Director

JTB Managing Director Nayef Al-Fayez with Leslie Koch in Madaba Jordan

I met Jordan Tourism Board’s managing director Nayef Al-Fayez in April 2011, during the “Restoring the Journey” trip to Jordan and Egypt. (May 18, 2011, By Leslie Koch)

What is the goal behind your blogger outreach campaign?

Bloggers differ from traditional media outlets because they give a more realistic, firsthand account of the country they are visiting, especially in times of special circumstance. What is more, their coverage is more immediate and can sometimes be more influential. People can relate to the person writing the blog and can depend on their honest, unbiased perspective. A blogger’s integrity is closely tied to their ability to provide a real, honest and unselfish view of their experience; it is what makes people relate. We needed people whose opinions are highly-regarded and genuine to make sure people trusted that Jordan was indeed safe, and not only that, but that it had so much to offer, any time of the year.

What is also great about bloggers is their continued interaction with their audience and their sincere recommendation of a country or experience if they truly believe in it. It’s like getting a recommendation from a friend you trust, as opposed to reading a recommendation in a mass-produced magazine. Continue reading The Value of Blogger Press Trips

On the Ground with a ‘Gap Year’

May 3, 2011, 9:00 AM By GREGORY KRISTOF

Gregory Kristof, who took a gap year in China before starting college.

I’ve periodically recommended that high school students take a “gap year” after graduation, by deferring college entrance for one year. Most colleges encourage students to take a gap year, partly because students then arrive a little more mature, a little more ready to study, a little more worldly. It’s becoming a bit more common, and Princeton now pays for some kids to travel during their gap year, but most people are still wary of the idea. In fact, almost every kid I’ve talked to who has taken a gap year raves about the idea, so I thought I’d commission a guest column from my eldest son, Gregory, who is currently taking a gap year in China. He spent most of the year studying Chinese at Tsinghua University and then at a language school in Dalian, and soon he’s going to finish up the year studying Spanish in Peru. On the side, he worked and volunteered. Here’s his take:

–Nicholas Kristof

It took place on a frosty peak tucked away in the Tibetan highlands: my friend Rick and I walked in on a group of monks as they were on their knees, groaning.

They were performing secret rituals involving yak butter.

Peeking out from behind animal fur curtains, Rick and I hoped that they hadn’t noticed us yet. They hummed and sat in rows facing a stage of yak butter candles that threw images against the walls like kicked hacky sacks. Back in the shadows, I worried: What would happen if they saw two white dudes chillin’ behind the furs? Continue reading On the Ground with a ‘Gap Year’

Lonely Planet’s travel picks for 2011

Overlooking houses and fields in the mountains of Western Bhutan. Photo by Johnny Haglund

30 Dec. 2010: Wondering what the new year will bring? Here’s the word on the ground from our Asia-Pacific travel editor, Shawn.

Budget airlines are here to stay. Frustration with budget airlines hit a new high (or low) in 2010 – but that’s not stopping people from travelling with them. More routes AND airlines are opening up in 2011: Malaysia Airlines is expanding its budget Firefly routes and Thai Airways is planning on launching its budget Thai Tiger carrier.

Tired of ‘independent’ travel? What about a tour…an awesome one? It’s getting harder and harder to get off the beaten path. In a funny twist, 2011 will be the year that the tours beat out the independent traveller to far-flung destinations. Looking for a destination that gives you some bragging rights? Try North Korea – possible to visit as part of an organised group. It’s the only way to get a glimpse behind one of the world’s most fascinatingly closed countries. Communism doesn’t appeal? Check out Bhutan. It’s a Himalayan Shangri-la, where snow-capped mountains and primeval forest are home to monasteries, dzongs and a uniquely Buddhist culture. Tourism to Bhutan is set to double by 2012 as word is getting out, so get in as soon as you can. Continue reading Lonely Planet’s travel picks for 2011