The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) will offer a range of new tourism experiences and infrastructure that are being developed as part of its vision to create a unique destination in Bhutan. Tourism experiences will be based on five pillars which are nature, adventure, wellness, spirituality, and culture.
According to GMC, these experiences are designed to be rooted in the values of mindfulness, well-being, inclusivity, and transformative and immersive engagement, while ensuring benefits for local communities.
Among the upcoming projects are the Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and the Royal Manas Park, which will be opened in stages and in a phased manner. The GMC has stated that this phased approach is intended to avoid disruption to the country’s ecology. In addition, the city will feature new community spaces and state-of-the-art parks, including botanical parks and royal parks, which will be introduced in Bhutan for the first time.
Accessibility is also expected to expand with the development of the Gelephu International Airport.
Director of Tourism for GMC, Tshering Dolkar, said the airport will be a game changer. She also said that there will be flights running all day and night which will increase connectivity, which will be a great opportunity for the current and future travel agents.
While sharing GMC’s broader vision, Tshering Dolkar said, “Challenges that the private sector has been facing currently is what we are trying to overcome in GMC and because GMC a sandbox model, we have the chance to see what kind of opportunities in tourism we can make.”
She explained that discussions are ongoing around the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) and tourism development policies. “We are working closely with the tourism stakeholders to see how it will work out,” she said. Beyond SDF, she highlighted accessibility and connectivity as continuing challenges, noting that tourism numbers are currently restricted because of issues arising from having only two airlines in the country currently.
The director said that GMC and Bhutan are envisioned to complement each other. She said the idea is that tourists who visit GMC will gain a glimpse of Bhutanese culture and heritage before traveling to other parts of the country for an authentic Bhutanese experience.
