With travel restrictions, Bhutanese are now opting to travel within the country. More number of people are going for hiking, glamping and religious excursions. In line with this, the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) launched three new products along with the new Domestic Tourism Guidelines today.
The products are Druk Neykor, Druk Kora and Food Map of Bhutan. ‘Druk Neykor’ is a pilgrimage travel programme which will have 108 sites from across the country. It can be found on www.bhutan.travel. ‘Druk Kora’, a domestic tourism campaign will feature domestic tour packages submitted by tour operators and other promoters on www.tourism.gov.bt. These products will motivate locals to explore the country and support local tourism businesses, according to TCB.
The Food Map of Bhutan developed by the Royal Institute for Tourism and Hospitality (RITH) will promote the culinary heritage of Bhutan.
According to TCB, domestic tourism is largely unregulated. In absence of a proper guideline, there were issues with littering, pollution and the quality of services offered to visitors.
“There are many people visiting lakes in Dagala, Thimphu. With a lot of people visiting these places, the problem of littering and waste management has become rampant. More so, with many people visiting monasteries, the risk of theft increases,” said Dorji Tshering, Thimphu Dzongdag.
“Today we have launched the Guidelines for Domestic Tourism and it is very important,” said Dorji Dhradul, the Director-General of TCB. “With this guideline, everything has been made very clear starting from who and what can be termed as Domestic Tourist and when can we go for a domestic tour. The guidelines basically focus on do’s and don’ts. And we hope that with this guideline, things will be managed in a proper manner as domestic tourism picks up,” he added.
Yeshi Dorji
