Haa has achieved a major milestone in tourism, exceeding its 2024 target by almost 70 per cent. 8,471 tourists visited the district last year, surpassing its initial goal of 5,000. Moving forward, the district, listed among BBC Travel’s best 25 destinations for 2025, plans to attract 10,000 tourists this year. Officials say this goal is optimistic and achievable, given the growing interest in Haa among travellers.
Of the total visitors last year, more than 4,000 were domestic tourists visiting sacred sites, while the rest were foreigners, comprising over 2050 international and more than 1930 regional tourists.
According to the district administration, the number of visitors has increased drastically over the past years.
This surge is attributed to the district’s sustainable community-based tourism initiatives, improved road connectivity, and the growing popularity of cultural and adventure tourism in the region.
Haa’s effort to become a favoured tourist destination received a further boost when BBC Travel listed the district as one of the most desirable places to visit in 2025.
“The joint efforts, not just the Dzongkhag administration but a lot of other stakeholders like hoteliers themselves, other donors, our development partners, who worked with us over this period, we went quite heavy with visibility products such as trying to come up with flyers, brochures some articles in newspapers. So, I thought this contributed to the visibility of our Dzongkhag to the international audience as well as to our domestic market,” said Melam Zangpo, Haa Dzongda.
Some of the strategies include intensifying marketing efforts, promoting homestay experiences, and organising cultural events to showcase the district’s unique traditions.
“We are trying to unbox things, and we have started to work on that. That would be the branding of Haa district for tourism development, and we have started that. So, over one year, we will get this done. So that will put things together in terms of the overall vision of developing tourism in Haa. And we will develop products for sale around what it means to engage in cultural heritage, environment, local experience, very authentic Bhutanese experience,” added the Haa Dzongda.
Officials are optimistic that with the right promotion strategies and improved services, Haa will achieve the target and establish itself as a key tourist destination in Bhutan.
Namgay Wangchuk, Haa
Edited by Phub Gyem
