Bhutan is likely to see the highest number of tourists visit the country, this year. Close to 90,000 tourists have already visited Bhutan from January to September, this year.
Last year, 1,16,209 tourists had visited Bhutan.
The number is likely to shoot up towards the end of this year, according to the Tourism Council of Bhutan’s Media Focal Person, Damcho Rinzin.
The increase in the number of tourists has been attributed to global popularity the country is gaining. “We have had tourists from the countries from where we had never received them before,” said Damcho Rinzin.
The Tourism Council of Bhutan has set a target to receive 150,000 tourists, every year. They feel the number is easy to achieve.
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“We are fortunate to have happiness factor. So, in terms of promotion, we don’t really have a big challenge.”
Damcho Rinzin said the challenge is more internal in terms of getting people to travel to other parts of the country. “The accessibility is a big challenge for us.”
He added the other challenge the seasonality. “Somehow the spring and autumn have become the most visited seasons. And you and I know that Bhutan is beautiful in other times of the year.”
The international tourists visiting the country pay US$ 250 during spring and autumn and US$ 200, during the other two seasons.
To take the tourism industry forward, the Tourism Council of Bhutan has declared 2015 as Visit Bhutan Year.
With a tag line “Celebrate Happiness”, the tourism council has launched a yearlong calendar of events lined up for 2015 along with Visit Bhutan 2015 website.
The website will help tourists plan their trip, look for special offers and disseminate information.
