Category: Sustainable Travel

How The Tiny, Poor Country Of Bhutan Became One Of The Most Sustainable Countries On Earth

The country knows it needs to develop, but it’s making sure the development doesn’t come at the expense of its natural resources.

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Photo: Flickr user sprklg

“My country is not one big monastery populated with happy monks.”

That’s the first thing that Tshering Tobgay, the charismatic prime minister of the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan, wants you to know about his homeland.

People are forgiven for thinking otherwise. For its beautiful forests and mountains and ancient Buddhist architecture, Bhutan—a poor, isolated country sandwiched between India and China that famously measures Gross National Happiness as its main economic indicator—has been called the last Shangri-la. But the prime minister knows that perception works against Bhutan’s efforts to develop economically along a truly sustainable path that has eluded many other equally beautiful nations. In Bhutan, many people still live in poverty, youth unemployment is rising, and pressures on forests are increasing. Its total GDP, $2 billion, is half that of Springfield, Ohio. Continue reading How The Tiny, Poor Country Of Bhutan Became One Of The Most Sustainable Countries On Earth

Featured Web/Blog: Introduction to Bhutan – Unbelievable Photographs!

Bhutan.  This little-known Himalayan kingdom, nestled between the giants of India and China, is the world’s last remaining Shangri-La.  This is an extraordinary country, unlike any on Earth, where traffic lights do not exist, buying cigarettes is illegal, the wrestling channel and MTV are banned, as well as Western-style billboards and plastic bags, and Gross National Happiness has been deemed more important than Gross National Product.  While neighboring countries have catapulted themselves into the modern world and embraced tourism with such ferocity that their cultures have been both compromised and neglected, Bhutan has recognized that the only way to move forward and ensure both its survival and sovereignty is to protect the unique culture and environment that makes the country so special.

Up until 1960, Bhutan had been visited by only a handful of early British explorers and during the decade that followed the few foreigners permitted into the country were guests of the royal family.  It was not until the coronation of the fourth king in 1974 that a hotel was built and the first group of paying tourists arrived, organized and led by Lars Eric Lindbald (founder of Linbald Travel) who encouraged the government to limit tourism and to charge high fees.  This set the standard by which tourism would evolve in Bhutan and small groups began to enter the country, permitted only to visit the dzongs and goempas in Paro and Thimpu. Continue reading Featured Web/Blog: Introduction to Bhutan – Unbelievable Photographs!

Why it Costs $200 a Day in Bhutan?

MAY 17, 2011 By Mary Kay Magistad for the THE WORLD (PRI): Download MP3

Bhutanese are proud of their traditional Buddhist culture – a culture tracing centuries back to Tibet, which has given Bhutan both its written language and its strain of Buddhism. As an independent country, Bhutan has been able to preserve its traditional culture far better than Tibet. And it wants to share that culture – with a select few, well-heeled tourists.

Many climb – though, in sneakers or hiking books rather than in heels – to the Tiger’s Nest in Paro, a Buddhist monastery with gilded roofs that seems to hover ethereally above a sheer cliff face. The hike on steep forest trails winds past rhododendrons and ghostly Spanish moss. With the high altitude, it takes even a young, fit person a couple of hours to make the ascent – and that’s before you get to the more than 700 stairs leading to the monastery at the end.

A Different Kind of Tourist

But few of the foreign tourists on the trail when I visited – or in Bhutan in general – were young or fit. Many rode donkeys up, and used walking sticks to gradually make their way down. Not exactly the energetic young trekkers of Nepal – but then, Bhutan’s tourists are different. Continue reading Why it Costs $200 a Day in Bhutan?

UNWTO applauds Gross National Happiness country

Taleb Rifai applauds Bhutan’s sustainability and quality tourism model

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, has expressed his support for the long-term tourism policy of Bhutan, with its focus on sustainability and quality, on an official visit to the country where he met with acting Prime Minister, Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba

The Royal Government of Bhutan considers tourism “a window of opportunity for the future of Bhutan” said Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, during his meeting with Mr. Rifai. Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba pointed to tourism’s contribution to the economic security and Gross National Happiness – Bhutan’s measure of wellbeing – of the Bhutanese people. Continue reading UNWTO applauds Gross National Happiness country

Role of tourism for sustainable development & poverty eradication

Madrid, Spain, 21 December 2010: Nations General Assembly acknowledges role of tourism for sustainable development and poverty eradication. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted by consensus at its 65th session three separate resolutions emphasizing the role on tourism in sustainable development. The three resolutions, on the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, on the promotion of ecotourism and on the importance of sustainable tourism for Small Island Developing States stress the significance of the sector to the development agenda in terms of sustainability, employment and poverty elimination. The resolutions further welcomed the efforts and work of UNWTO in promoting sustainable tourism for poverty eradication. Continue reading Role of tourism for sustainable development & poverty eradication

Nomadic community gears up for guests/tourists

Around 46 locals are being trained as cooks and guides for tourists

Merak-Sakteng : Around 46 Merak and Sakteng locals will be trained to guide tourists and cook, as the nomadic community in north eastern Trashighang opens officially to tourists next month.

A team of around eight experienced guides and trekking cooks is conducting the training for 15 days each in Merak and Sakten for 10 local guides and 36 cooks, said a tourism council of Bhutan (TCB) official. The training starts today.

Of the 10 would be local guides, eight are class XII dropouts, and the rest are classes IX and X dropouts. “The cooks will be trained in preparing both continental and local food that blend with the tastes of tourists,” a TCB official said. Continue reading Nomadic community gears up for guests/tourists

Bhutan Tour and the Daily Tariff

Can Bhutan bring in more tourists at a higher tariff? According to a majority of tour operators in the country that today number around 300 it may not be possible.

In other words, it’s going to be difficult to meet the government’s target of bringing in 100,000 dollar paying tourists by 2013, when the official tariff goes up from USD 200 to USD 250 a day.

Given the existing policy of ‘high value low volume’ tourism, USD 200 a day is generally seen as expensive, because it is assumed to be the cost of the daily visa fee.

It’s surprising that, even after all these years of opening up to tourism, most prospective tourists do not know that the USD 200 a day also covers the cost for food, lodge, transport and guide services. There’s a serious communication gap that needs to be bridged.

Still, the notion that tourists may decide to go some place else instead of coming to Bhutan because official tariffs have gone up by USD 50 does not sound convincing, when every blessed year Bhutan keeps featuring as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Continue reading Bhutan Tour and the Daily Tariff

Bhutan to allow 100% FDI for 5-star luxury hotels

Hundred percent foreign investment will be allowed in the construction of five-star hotels in Bhutan on a selective basis to overcome the shortage of financial capital in the domestic market and up the quality of services pro­vided to tourists visiting Bhutan.

However, in the four-star hotel category, as sug­gested by the hoteliers, the government agreed that foreign investments will be allowed up to 70%, in order to create opportu­nities for the local entre­preneurs. Continue reading Bhutan to allow 100% FDI for 5-star luxury hotels

Bhutan Revises Tourism Policy

The government and the stakeholders agree on an ambitious plan to bring in 100,000 high-end tourists by year 2012.

Bhutan will be sold as a high quality and low impact tourist destination which draws visitors throughout the year by building the necessary infrastructure, setting high benchmarks for delivery of services, diversifying products, and ensuring that its benefits reach a larger segment of the population.

The consultative meeting between the stakeholders of tourism and the government in Thimphu yesterday decided on numerous reforms that will take the industry forward in the years to come. Bhutan will be positioned as a responsible, unique, authentic and quality destination anchored on GNH philosophy with minimum negative impact on natural and cultural heritage. A nine-pronged approach will be adopted to bring in 100,000 tourists by 2012. These include developing an additional 2-3 circuits, promoting new products and defining Bhutan’s brand identity, value proposition and market to target audience. Aviation capacities will be built internationally and locally with domestic helicopter/airline services commencing soon to key destinations.

Continue reading Bhutan Revises Tourism Policy