Bhutan’s unique culture, the biggest tourist attraction
27 April 2005 – Bhutan’s unique culture and its natural beauty continue to play a lead role in attracting tourists, according to the International Tourism Monitor 2004, report released by the Department of Tourism. The report, which was based on data retrieved from the tourism department and from a sample survey conducted among tourists, showed that 34.4 percent of the visitors found Bhutan’s unique culture as the biggest attraction followed by “mountains and natural beauty” appreciated by 15.6 percent.While 9.3 percent considered the people as the major attraction about 6.6 percent said they were attracted by the “undiscovered” aspect of Bhutan. Contradictory to popular belief only three percent of the visitors ranked trekking as one of the major attractions in Bhutan. The reason, according to the advisor of the tourism department, Megan Ritchie, who conducted the report, was that Bhutan was an expensive trekking destination compared with other countries. “Moreover the trekking market in Bhutan is very small,” she said. Megan Ritchie said that most of the tourists who visited Bhutan were cultural tourists with very little interest in trekking or any other activities. Only 5.5 percent of the visitors who came to Bhutan in 2004 were trekkers while the rest were cultural tourists. Although common belief was that tourists usually came to Bhutan as a part of a regional tour the report revealed that more than 36 percent of the respondents said that Bhutan was their sole and primary destination. “This comes as a surprise and it also indicates that Bhutan’s profile in the global market is strong,” said Megan Ritchie. Among the places most visited Punakha rated as the single most often visited place for tourists, at 45.7 percent, while Thimphu or Thimphu tshechu ranked second at 40.1 percent. About 32.8 percent visited dzongs while 30.8 percent of the tourists visited Bumthang. Flora and fauna and bird watching were minimal, at 3 percent and 2.6 percent. About 36.8 percent of the visitors said that information through friends or “word-of-mouth” was the most common source of information on Bhutan. Others cited magazine, brochures and tour guides or agencies as other sources of information on Bhutan. Only four percent said they first learnt about Bhutan through the Internet. “This is a very important observation,” said Megan Ritchie. “Tour operators should try and improve their services so that tourists go back home with good things to say about Bhutan.” The report also pointed out that most of the visitors were over the age of 60 with a majority of them couples with grown up children. Most of them were well educated with university degrees or higher education. “Beautiful”, “friendly”, “natural” and “religious” were the most common words used to describe Bhutan, according to the report. When asked to fill in additional facilities and improvements that need to be included in the hospitality industry, 14.6 percent cited roads as the major area that needed improvement. About 13.6 percent found improvement of hotel standards like beds, services and water wanting while seven percent of the visitors expressed concern over better and cleaner toilets and more variation in food. Six percent of the respondents suggested better dog care. The director general of the tourism department, Lhatu Wangchuk, said that these were revealing facts which could be useful tools for tour operators. “It points out our weakness and strengths,” he said, adding that the report could be useful for future research and studies. The total earnings of the tourism industry in 2004 was US$ 12.502 million, approximately 50.1 percent higher than the 2003 earnings which was US$ 8.324 million. “This is a healthy trend for the industry and more effort should be made to enhance Bhutan as one exotic tourist destination in the region,” said Lhatu Wangchuk. Source: Kuensel