The Tourism Council of Bhutan has been absorbed into the Ministry of Economic Affairs as its Tourism Department. The change is part of the ongoing civil service transformation and restructuring initiative.
“As part of the ongoing transformation, it is a common understanding that there will be no autonomous agencies as far as possible. Maybe there will be one or two exceptions but wherever possible, any autonomous agencies like commissions, councils, and autonomous agencies will be folded under the ministries. So, that is the overall principle of the reorganization of the civil service. So, we are being part of that,” said Dorji Dhradhul, the Director General of the Department of Tourism.
As per the department, the office will continue to operate from the same location in Thimphu with the same team.
The mandates of the Department of Tourism which include planning and policy-making, marketing and promotion, innovation and product development among others will remain the same.
“As a TCB, of course, we had autonomy, we just had to report to a chairperson. But otherwise, we didn’t have to report to a secretary or a minister directly. But now in the new organisation, we have for administration, governance, everything, we have to route through the secretary and minister. That could be a process but we are hoping, I am hoping that since the bureaucracy is changing, it will be more of a facilitation rather than a hindrance,” added the Director General.
TCB was first created as Tourism Department under Finance Ministry in 1971. The Department was changed into a corporation owned by the government and was renamed as Bhutan Tourism Corporation under the Ministry of Communication in 1983.
In 1991, it was renamed the Tourism Authority of Bhutan when it became a regulatory body. In 1999, it was re-structured as the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
In 2008, the department became an autonomous agency and was named the Tourism Council of Bhutan.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Sonam Pem
