Bhutan 360 - Travel Guide to Bhutan

$250 A Day – Tourist Tariff Increase for 2009

June 24, 2008

The Tourism Council of Bhutan’s (TCB) move to increase the tariff for tourists entering the country from US$200 to 250 beginning next year has been welcomed by the Bhutanese tour operators.

The revision is to help tour operators deal better with inflation, said an official from the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO).

Trekking Trail Litter

June 13, 2008

A 9-time visitor to Bhutan, Ulrike Ropler Pensionier, 61, from Germany, was making a steady climb up the hill that shoulders the summit on which Lingshi dzong stands.

She had stopped and was looking at the open wilderness of the mountains when Kuensel approached her. “The Chebisa village used to be very clean but the stream and surroundings have become dirty now,” she said.

Rare Ocelot in Bhutan

June 11, 2008

A rare morph of the Asiatic golden cat (the ocelot morph) has been sighted in the high altitude mountains of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck national park, which nature conservationists are calling another feather in the cap of Bhutan’s conservation efforts.

Freak Accident at the Taktsang – Tourist Survives

May 26, 2008

A 17 year old boy fell off the Taktsang cliff on the 24th of May suffering multiple injuries. Doctors say he is out of danger but the magnitude of the injury can be confirmed only after a CT scan.

Anish Kanoria, the victim, had gone to Taktsang with his family and the Young President Organisation, a group from India.

Hotels To Be Rated With Stars

May 26, 2008

Hotels in Bhutan will soon graded on a star rating, based on a new classification system introduced by the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB), which will replace the existing lettering system.

“The proposed system incorporates all accommodations for international tourists and could be expanded in future,” said the director general of TCB, Kesang Wangdi. He said that the proposed system is aimed at providing credibility and to benefit hoteliers by motivating them to invest and offer improved services.

A Record 21,094 Tourists Visited Bhutan in 2007

May 19, 2008

The previous year (2007) recorded a gross earning of about USD 24 million from the tourism industry with 21,094 tourists visiting Bhutan, 21.6% more than 2006, the highest ever.

The number is expected to increase in 2008 with 8,559 tourists already having visited Bhutan by April 2008.