The Bhutanese Leading the way.
During the Question Hour session at National Assembly (NA) yesterday, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Khar-Yurung constituency, Tshering Chhoden, asked the Prime Minister (PM) Dasho Dr Lotay Tshering on the measures put in place by the government to normalize the tourism industry to revive the economy.
MP Tshering Chhoden said that the tourism industry, which is the country’s second highest revenue earner, was hit hard by the pandemic, and it has led to over 50,000 employees losing their jobs, which has had an adverse effect on the economy.
She highlighted that individuals have benefited from His Majesty’s Kidu program, which provides monthly income, and financial institutions have provided low-interest loans.
“The Kidu program will end this month, and everything will return to normal after that. Individuals will also have to pay their loans, so this will bear down as a burden on them. Though tourists are allowed to visit the country, they have to undergo 5 days mandatory quarantine, which also creates inconvenience,” she said.
According to the Prime Minister, the country has been focusing on tourism for two decades now, and about seven to eight years ago, they characterized tourists into regional tourists and dollar-paying tourists.
The PM said that the country’s primary objective is high value, low volume, and from 2017, approximately 180,000 to 200,000 regional tourists have visited the country, with 70,000 to 80,000 dollar paying tourists. It never made it to 100,000.
Lyonchhen claimed that there are around 10,000 to 15,000 employees in tourism sector, but the findings do not state that there are 50,000.
“Tourists must pay a daily fee of USD 250, and we are aware of the inconvenience. We don’t know how much tourists pay when they come from their home countries and how much comes into our country, but we calculated that only 30 percent of the money comes into the country out of a total of 100 percent. The one who pays is paying a lot, but in the middle there are a lot of people who receive it, and when it reaches Bhutan, we receive only USD 250. We learned that they may have been paying roughly USD 700 to 800,” Lyonchhen said.
It is pretty apparent that employees working in the tourism industry are well paid, but as per the government’s calculation, the guides earn between USD 100 to 150 per day.
Lyonchhen stated that tourist pay between Nu 300 and Nu 500 for a meal in a hotel, and as a result the food quality becomes poor.
“Even Bhutanese are required to pay Nu 300 to Nu 450, with no profit for the hotel owner. The hotel staff are paid a monthly salary of roughly Nu 7,000 to Nu 8,000, with some tips from tourists. During peak season, they earn between Nu 15,000 and Nu 20,000 per month. As a result, they are unable to enhance their livelihoods, knowledge and skills, and hotel owners are unable to upgrade their business. The policy has produced an unease, and the government claims that tourism is important, but there are many issues,” Lyonchhen stated.
As per the PM, tourism generates USD 300 to 500 million every year, and it has benefitted the country, but not greatly.
“It has not been discussed how tourism has affected the country or how it will affect it in the future. The pandemic has taught us lessons, and one of them is that countries that relied on tourism went bankrupt in one to two months. If we continue to rely on tourism, we will face the same problems down the line,” Lyonchhen said.
Lyonchhen added that those countries that have relied on tourism have not been able to recover.
“Bhutan does not fall into this category because we have not relied only on tourism to date, but that does not mean that we will not focus on tourism, but we will focus on quality. It will benefit the country as well as the individuals, greatly,” Lyonchhen added.
Meanwhile, Lyonchhen said that experts from within and outside the country have held many discussions, and the government’s actions will be deliberated on 20 June.
