The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Around a week ago a 6-member group of Chinese tourists spent around 6 nights in Bhutan staying in the top end luxury hotels in Amman Paro and Sixth Sense in Thimphu with room rates of around USD 2,000 per night.
The total tour package for Bhutan including air tickets was worth around USD 55,000 according to a Bhutanese tour operator who did not want to be identified but only around USD 20,000 had been sent which was used for the air tickets and SDF with most of the money still unpaid.
The tour was coming to an end but the remaining money was not coming.
The Bhutanese tour operator checked with his Chinese tour agent counterpart who is based in Nepal and China and she said the original agent in China who sent the tourists to her had not sent the money.
She frantically called and messaged the agent but there was not much response and he did send another USD 20,000 but he also blocked the payment in the Chinese bank.
The Bhutanese operator said only a couple few days were left for the tour to end and when he called her she was in tears saying that the original agent was not responding to her calls and messages.
He said as a long time trusted partner his Nepal counterpart said she will take full accountability and loss and send the full amount and later sue the original agent in court.
The Bhutanese operator said while he would not be losing money he felt bad for her and so he sought an appointment with the Chinese tourists and informed the guests that their original Chinese agent had not paid the Chinese agent in Nepal.
The guests were shocked saying that they had paid for the full tour to the original agent.
However, when the Bhutanese tour operator cross checked the payment made by the guests, to his shock, he found that not only had the main agent not sent the full money but the bigger issue was that the guests had paid only a part of the USD 55,000 tour.
The Bhutanese operator said the group had asked for a full 5-star level luxury tour in the best hotels, facilities and with a Chinese speaking guide.
He said he told them that the tour was designed as per their specification and they cannot expect to get 70 to 80% discount on the hotel room rates.
He said that with the liberalization of the tourism sector, no minimum daily package rate and anyone able to get visas for tourists the Chinese tourists had assumed that their tour package to Bhutan would be cheaper and only cost less than half of the original cost.
What was clear by know was that it was not just a payment issue but a serious communication issue caused by the original operator in China.
Keen to prevent a loss for his partner agent in Nepal, the Bhutanese tour operator asked the Chinese tourists to pay up the remaining amount or he would get the police involved.
The Chinese tourists who thought they had paid for the whole tour at a fixed rate had to come up with around USD 30,000 plus in more payments using their credit cards.
The Bhutanese operator said though he was covered by his Chinese counterpart in Nepal, he through his actions ensured his partner only a took a loss of around Nu 500,000 to Nu 600,000.
The Nepal Chinese agent who also has an office in China is planning to sue the original agent, however, that maybe challenging as the original agent who is known to the six tourists currently stays abroad.
According to a Bhutanese businessman who interacted with the six Chinese tourists, they want to also sue their original Chinese agent and recover the USD 30,000 plus they had to pay. They may also file a complaint in Bhutan against the Bhutanese operator based on how they were asked to give the money as they feel it was their agent’s fault and not theirs.
One of the problems is that Bhutan is seen as a very small and niche destination and so the big operators in China do not market Bhutan, but the marketing there is done informally on social media by smaller players, group leaders and some who are not even registered.
The Bhutanese tour operator said the problem is that in the earlier MDPR regime the entire tour amount had to be sent in advance to the then Tourism Council of Bhutan, but now only the SDF is collected by the Immigration officials and tour operators have nowhere to go to complain on such issues.
He also said that since the visa can now be literally applied for by anyone, Bhutanese tour operators are in a precarious position and cannot turn down foreign agents who can choose to go to hotels directly or even guides.
He said that such cases of the full amount not coming happens all the time.
The Bhutanese businessman in touch with the Chinese tourists also said the same saying such cases of Bhutanese tour operators not getting the full amount from foreign agents is becoming common.
The Bhutanese operator said that now that tourists have to pay only USD 100 SDF and the one-time visa fee of USD 40 even hitchhikers are coming to Bhutan as they stay in cheap places and nobody is there to monitor.
The operator said that now hotels deal directly with tourists and many tour companies are suffering.
Another tour operator said he is hearing of cases where tour operators from India book hotels on part credit with 50% in advance but don’t pay the remaining dues later. Given the condition of the tourism industry hotels themselves are in no position to reject such conditions and the lower rates.
He said the payment gateway is also an issue as it is still difficult to send money to Bhutan and there are cases of tourists bringing cash.
