The Bhutanese Leading the way.
While there are signs of recovery in the tourism sector, however, Bhutan’s hotel industry is still facing difficulties, in terms of occupancy and staff retention.
In response to the readiness of the hotels in paying their loans next June when the deferment period comes to an end, the Chairman of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Bhutan (HRAB), Jigme, said, “While some sections of hotels have recovered and are doing well, most in the lower category of hotels are still struggling with occupancy. Some of them will not be ready to pay their debt.”
A three star hotel owner in Thimphu said, “The tourist numbers are declining, and there are many hotels in Thimphu, making this industry competitive. On top of not having many guests, we also have labor problems. The HRAB is working on these issues and we also have a group chat for the three star hotels.”
The owner added that hotels are not ready for the end of the deferment period since it is already the end of the year, and they have to start paying their loans in six months while they only have guests occupying 10 percent of the hotel’s total capacity.
A budget hotel owner in Thimphu said, “We get around 2 to 3 customers a week, and we also have to pay our staff. I think that the issue with staff retention is because of the income of the hotel decreasing. If we have many guests visiting, we will not have the issue of staff leaving their jobs after only working for two or three months.”
With increasing competition and more restrictions on the tourists, the hotels, relatively the ones falling under the lower category, are facing difficulties.
HRAB Chairman added that the opening of the Samdrup Jongkhar gate, and the soon to be implemented airfare subsidy for international tourists, are some of the initiatives taken by the government to address these issues.
As the country is still recovering from the pandemic, the Ministry of Industry Commerce and Employment is working to achieve 300,000 tourist visits a year, and to make this a reality, the ministry is planning to make the travel restrictions lighter and promote Bhutan as a special place to visit by creating new attractions.
However, with many hotels still struggling, the path to full recovery for Bhutan’s hotel industry remains unclear. This highlights the need for continued support from both the government and private sector to help the industry survive and grow.
Bhutan has received 95,633 tourists from January till September 2024 which is an increase compared to around 67,673 tourists in the same time period in 2023. However, hotels will need more.
