Online travel company MakeMyTrip, in collaboration with the Bhutan Government, is offering summer holiday packages from May to July this year.
Bhutan tourism
The company will start chartered flights on a pilot basis from Delhi and Mumbai and is offering week-long holiday packages for Rs 33,999 and Rs 39,999 a person. These can be booked through the 7,000 B2B agents registered with the company. The packages will cover three places, including Thimpu and Paro.
“We expect at least 2,500 people to visit Bhutan through this offer,” Mr Mohit Gupta, MakeMyTrip Chief Marketing Officer, told newspersons here.
As a part of the collaboration, MakeMyTrip has signed a memoranda of understanding with Drukair Airlines, the official air carrier of Bhutan, and six star hotels there.
The Ambassador of Bhutan, General V. Namgyal, said tourism was of great importance to Bhutan's economy, as it had a lot of potential to generate employment.
However, Bhutan Government wants to focus only on high-end tourism and is reluctant to turn the Kingdom into a mass tourist or shopping destination.
Last year, 40,873 high-end tourists visited Bhutan from across the globe, out of which, 12,000 were from India and Bangladesh, Ms Chimmy Pem, Joint Director (Marketing), Tourism Council of Bhutan said.
Visa
She said Indians travelling to the country would not need a visa. Also, they would not have to pay $200 a day fee charged from travellers from other countries.