American tourist arrivals surpassed Japanese tourists last year, while in 2012 it was just the opposite. In 2013, of the 52,798 visitors there were 6,927 Americans. In 2012, there were 6,967 Japanese visitors. The reason attributed for this massive influx of Japanese tourists was Their Majesties’ visit to Japan and subsequent promotions by the Tourism...Read More
Bhutan is the eighth “happiest” country in the world and the happiest country in Asia. This is despite widespread poverty and illiteracy. According to a survey, reasons attributing to the happiness were the nation’s beautiful scenery, land-locked isolation and strong sense of national identity. Television was banned in the country until 1999 to preserve its...Read More
Tashi Air, Bhutan’s first private airline will resume domestic services in October this year. When Information and Communications minister, D.N Dhungyel was quizzed during the National Council session on when domestic services would resume and why a private airline was allowed to violate the terms and conditions of licensing, Lyonpo said that the airline and...Read More
The National Assembly endorsed the Right to Information Bill (RTI) when from the 40 members, 32 voted for it, four abstained from voting and four voted against it. It will have to go through the National Council for further ratification. Speaking in Parliament, the Minister of Information and Communications Lyonpo D N Dhungyel said that...Read More
In a move to facilitate better cross-border trade between Bhutan and India through removal of double taxation, and to attract Indian investments in the field of education and health, the National Council unanimously ratified the MIGA or Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agreement. MIGA was only one of the five agencies of the World Bank Group so...Read More
Bhutan saw an increase of 10% in tourist arrivals in 2013 as compared to the previous year. Last year, there were 10, 810 tourists visiting the country while in 2012, there were 116,224 tourists. Of the total arrivals, 44,267 were international or dollar- paying tourists,, 63,426 were regional tourists while 8,531 visited the country under...Read More
The “Clean Bhutan” project will be launched on Feb.6 starting with Thimpchhu. The project will involve two rafts, 300 volunteers and 20 project staff. Starting from Lingkana, the cleaning programme will stretch till the sewerage in Babesa. The project website will also be launched on the same day. Meanwhile, the volunteers will be divided into...Read More
Druk Air will start flights to Mumbai starting May 1, making it the sixth Indian city in its list of flight destinations. The national air carrier will fly twice a week to the city and maybe routed through Kathmandu, Nepal. It is yet to be decided if the flight cost will be slightly higher than...Read More
Many Bhutanese monasteries and temples have “The Wheel of Life” adorning their entrances. It illustrates the following: It is held and turned by Yama, the Lord of Death and is a representation of the cycle of samsara. The inner circle depicts a cockerel (desire or attachment) biting a pig (ignorance or delusion) biting a...Read More
An umbrella (better if it’s compact) or a good raincoat- for any region or time of the year. Hat, sunscreen, lip balm and sunglasses. Earplugs because Bhutanese dogs are a noisy lot. Trekking poles for steep hikes to temples and monasteries. Swimming costumes for hot stone baths. A flashlight for power cuts and to see...Read More
