Bhutan, which has constantly won India’s support in its pursuit to achieve high Gross National Happiness, is now looking at its neighbour for an increased flow of tourists to give a boost to its economy.
“India is a very close neighbour and friend. The Indian government has always supported our development and continues to do so. Though an increasingly number of tourists visit our country every year, we want the numbers to increase and we would like more and more Indians to travel to our country,” said Mr Khandu Wangchuk, Bhutan’s Minister for Economic Affairs.
The small landlocked country, with a population of less than 7 lakh, has been recording an average growth of 27 per cent per annum in the number of international tourist arrivals. From over 5,000 foreign visitors in 2003, the number rose to over 28,000 in 2010, according to the Bhutan Tourism Council (TCB) data.
“Of the over 27,700 international tourists who visited our country in 2009, over 20 per cent were from the US, 13 per cent from Japan and 8 per cent from the UK. Not too many tourists from India visit our country, but we want the trend to change,” said Ms Janyang Choden, a TCB spokesperson.
“About 40,000-41,000 international tourists are expected to visit Bhutan this year. We are aiming to receive about 1,00,000 tourists per annum by the end of 2020, and hope than many of them would be from India,” she said.
The Bhutanese Government and its national airline Drukair have tied up with India’s popular online travel company MakeMyTrip.com to provide tour packages with chartered flights from New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to Bhutan, which is also known as The Land of the Thunder Dragon.
“With our association with Make My Trip, we look forward to welcoming visitors from India and give them a memorable holiday with their families and friends in the Land of Happiness,” said Major General V. Namgyal, the Ambassador of Bhutan to India.
The Government has also revised its FDI policy, making it more friendly for foreign investors, to encourage tourism, he said.
“As per the new FDI policy, a foreign entity can have 100 per cent ownership of land in the case of five-star hotels and 75 per cent ownership in four-star hotels,” Mr Wangchuk said.