Will royal wedding attract tourists in Thimphu?
Bhutanese travel agencies are making efforts to earn more through all possible means. This is core principle of doing business. The latest of their card on show is the royal wedding scheduled for this October. It’s not sure if that really is a piece Westerners love.
Yetis & Dragons, a leading Bhutan travel agency, has come up with the idea to incorporate wedding of King Jigme Khesar into their itinerary. According to CEO of the company Lakey Wangmo, the company received many requests from around the world for special travel packages for that month.
The company has announced two full-service Bhutan tour packages which match both the spirit and the ambience of the much-awaited occasion. Both packages are specially designed around the time of the royal wedding with a view to maximizing the guest experience of the royal wedding.
The first package, called Royal Wedding Enchantment, is a basic week-long tour of Bhutan centred around the capital city and its surrounding areas. Guests will be provided VIP opportunities to participate in the wedding festivities especially in the events leading up to the wedding. Arrangements are being made for the company’s guests to witness the festivities around in full colour.
After the wedding, the guests will also travel around the country to see temples, fortresses and monasteries.
The second package named Paramount is a comprehensive 13-day deluxe luxury tour of the country but has similar features – attending royal wedding festivities and visiting around the country including Punakha, Bumthang and Trongsa – three major valleys dominated by Ngalops to which the royals belong.
Travelling to Bhutan has many obstacles. High taxation, low air connectivity and lack of adequate tour guides. The only international airport in Paro welcomes just Druk Air, the national flag carrier. It is expected the ticketing mess will be minimise with the company buying two new flights.
Bhutan tourism is north-west centric. Travelling to eastern districts has been opened with efforts of new government. The southern districts still remain restricted for foreign travellers. Tour operators are not allowed to design travel packages for southern districts specially from where citizens were expelled in 1990.