Goongtong, Satong, Yuetong

I cannot remember how I ended up being a Member of the UNDP’s SENetwork but already by 2006 - that is roughly 18 years back - I was called upon by the organization to write an article on how the country might prepare itself to meet the challenges that is likely to be posed by the emerging trend of mass movement of pastoral population to urban centers. I refused to do so on the grounds that that was the wrong approach to solving the problem – instead, I submitted an article on “How we might work towards counteracting the problem”.

The UNDP decided that the solution I suggested was just too radical and felt that it would be imprudent on their part to publish the article which would be tantamount to endorsing my idea. Fine - but pussy-footing around an issue is no way to solve a problem. And so, the problem was allowed to fester year after year - unchecked.

The term employed to describe the emerging malice then was: "Rural-Urban Migration".

Sometime around 2010-11, the term “Goongtong” was coined.

Around 2015-16 when I began to frantically push the issue of Goongtong to the fore - I coined one additional term - “Yuetong”.

This year, the Members of the Parliament added one brand new nomenclature to the malice that they now agree has reached alarming proportions - “Satong”.

In 2016, I highlighted the problem of Goongtong with the following two articles, in addition to few others.

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2016/02/rural-urban-migration-impending-crisis.html

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2016/02/rural-urban-migration-impending-danger.html

Beginning January of 2015, I had already authored a series of 10 articles on Goongtong (funded by the BCMD) that was published in the Kuensel – titled “A Malady Called Rural-Urban Migration”:

https://www.google.com/search?q=KUENSEL+A+malady+called+Rural-Urban+Migration&sca_esv=caadd628b09a36ae&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIkyUMO2kekw8dX85YKz2Cr9grxxQ%3A1718506286970&ei=LlNuZuT4OoPg4-EPy7C7gAw&ved=0ahUKEwjkx53mjt-GAxUD8DgGHUvYDsAQ4dUDCBA&oq=KUENSEL+A+malady+called+Rural-Urban+Migration&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLUtVRU5TRUwgQSBtYWxhZHkgY2FsbGVkIFJ1cmFsLVVyYmFuIE1pZ3JhdGlvbjIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABSKU0UNsPWNsPcAF4AJABAJgB0gGgAbwEqgEFMC4yLjG4AQzIAQD4AQGYAgSgAswEwgILEAAYsAMYogQYiQXCAggQABiiBBiJBZgDAIgGAZAGAZIHBTEuMi4xoAfQBQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

The ongoing discussions in the Parliament on the twin subjects of Education and Farming seems like a good opportunity to see if we may, for a change, transcend the superfluous verbosity and get down to brass tacks! But I suspect that as usual, this too shall be one that flew over the cuckoo’s nest.

Ban on commercial harvesting of timber in the country was introduced in 1979, necessitated by compulsion. Nearly half a century has passed us by since - times and situations are no long the same - the country’s physical boundaries have contracted and the Mt. Everest has grown taller - but the Forestry Department has remained immobile and stuck in a time-wrap.

It is heartbreaking how we speak of hundreds of thousands of millions of Ngultrums ….. and yet people in the core areas of the country’s capital city - Babesa - are wailing cries of woe - that they lack a simple daily necessity - drinking water. Imagine the plight of the rural folks far removed from the glare and pomposity of the Dashos and Lyoenpos in Thimphu.

Can we, for a change, shelve the astronomical and the gigantic, so that we are left with time and resources to confront, and tackle, the manageable and the doable? It would help.

Welcoming the Winds of Change

As of this post, I have a total of 75 posts related to our hydroelectric power projects. And I am not embarrassed or ashamed that 99.99% of those posts are negative posts - posts that unabashedly chastise our largest and most infamous hydropower undertakings. But I take pride in the fact that they also happen to be among my most popular posts. In terms of readership, three of my posts on the subject rank 4th, 6th and 7th highest read posts on my blog which, as of today, comprises of a staggering 1,127 posts.

Winds of Change?: The advent of a new era in our hydroelectric power aspirations

Notwithstanding my unrestrained, high-octave tirades against our more recent hydroelectric projects, I dare believe that I remain absolved of any wrong doing because I have made it clear that my revulsion for the projects is for the perilous, debilitating manner in which they have been done in Bhutan - NOT hydropower projects per se.

But now I sense that the gentle winds of change is sweeping in - to stoke the fires of our abundant hydroelectric potential - I am truly encouraged!

Harnessing the power of the sun cannot amount to more than a mere stop-gap arrangement - something of a fill-in-the-gap kind of thing - something to tide us over our immediate and burgeoning domestic demand. In my thinking, the real deal still remains the unbridled power that the bountiful nature has gifted us with - the energy and power of the free-flowing WATER.

The recently announced MoU between DGPC and Adani Group of India to explore the possibility of undertaking the construction of the Wangchhu Hydropower Project is a most welcome news. I hope it happens.

While it is as yet unclear as to what will finally be tinkered between the DGPC and the Adani Group – if at all, my own aspirations would be that the collaboration undergoes a marginal upscaling and that it is implemented as a staggered, multi-stage undertaking.

One: implement the 180MW Bunakha Reservoir Hydroelectric Project (BRHEP)

          for which DPR has already been approved for construction during February of 2014.

Two: A couple of years down the line, when major dam construction work is nearing completion,

          start work on the 900MW run-of-the-river scheme Wangchhu Hydropower Project

          at the tail end of the already much abused Wangchhu. I think no one should be in any

          doubt of the multi-faceted benefits to this approach of project implementation.

We also hear that the ill-fated 600MW Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Power Project in the East of the country is likely to happen – in collaboration with the TATA Group of India. That would be great as well. If that arrangement materializes, I am encouraged to believe that another equally valuable opportunity for partnership - one that is not yet in the scheme of things, could be considered for the mutual benefit of both the partners.

The World’s Most Inhospitable International Airport

I have tended to make fun about our claim that we are unique. Truth be told, as I grow older and wiser, I am beginning to think that I may have been wrong all my life – I think we are indeed a unique country populated with an incomparable breed of unique humans. This realization began unravelling in me - one after the other - when I found myself completely lost at the Arrival area of Paro International Airport, yesterday.

Upon arriving at the airport bang at 11:00AM when the DrukAir flight on which my son was arriving from Bangkok, I got held up because the electronically operated gate that bars me entry into the Arrival area would not open.

The nonchalant woman inside the gate’s cubical looked at me blankly - even as I looked at her inquiringly - it was obvious that we were stuck. Sadly, energetic thinking is not in our unique nature - if it was, the woman could have let us pass through the Exit point located just behind her - which was wide open and inactive at that time of the day.

Even as a long queue of cars began to snake behind me, I noticed an officious looking man in Gho, with a name tag on a lanyard dangling from his neck approach the dysfunctional gate – as if he was on a leisurely stroll at the Park. But he did manage to lift the horizontal bar of the gate and we finally gained entry into the Arrival areas of the airport.

Problem 1:

The airport authorities have obviously failed to think of putting in place a suitable power back-up system, in the event of electrical/mechanical failure, which is not unusual.

Problem 2:

The fact that someone else is required to come to override the electronic circuitry every time there is a power failure can only mean that the woman manning the gate has not been suitably trained in the manual bypass operation of the gate.

Once inside, I tried to find out if the flight had landed. Everyone was clueless - I asked a number of people. I looked around and I was sure that all of the close to 100 people standing on their legs all over the open parking space - like they were pawns on a Chessboard - had any idea at all. And the reason? - the country’s one and only international airport DOES NOT HAVE A FLIGHT INFORMATION BOARD! As a result, you do not know if a flight has landed, if it is landing on schedule, if not what is the new ETA, if a flight is delayed or, if a flight is cancelled entirely.

All that you can do is - like the Maheng (water buffalo) in a famous Bhutanese parable - look up to the sky every time you hear a distant drone of an approaching aircraft.

Are we so pathetic? We do not have the decency to install an Information Board to keep our guests and visitors informed of the status of a flight. How much does it cost? How technologically complex is the process?

Are we proud to be able to force our visitors to pay four times the airfare they would have had to pay elsewhere - for the same flight hour and distance? And to what end? – to find themselves in a vortex of void and cluelessness?

For sure I think there may be some logic behind the concept of the imposition of SDF of US$100.00 per person per day. But if the tourists are already paying US$100.00 per person per day to be able to experience the sights and sounds of the Last Shangri-La, what is the logic behind asking them to pay additional fee of Nu.1,000.00 per person - to take a passing peek at Taktsang at the end of an arduous uphill trek of 3-4 hours? Isn’t Taktsang part of the sight for which they have already paid a daily Tax of US$100.00?

Coming back to the Arrival area of Paro International Airport - why is it not possible for the authorities to make it a little bit more hospitable? Why can’t they create a covered waiting area? Why can’t they put chairs for waiting people to sit on, as they wait? Why can’t they provide overhead roof – so that people who are waiting can be protected from scorching sun and lashing rain? Why aren’t there any toilets within easy reach?

Why can’t the authorities build a covered walkway for the tourists and the visitors – so that they can walk to their waiting transport under the cover of an overhead roof? How difficult is it to create these most basic amenities?

Doesn’t the alphabet “D” in the SDF stand for “development”? Wasn’t that imposed in order that we may develop, and improve things for the benefit of the visiting tourists, to make the country and our tourism infrastructure appear hospitable and welcome - to improve their experience? Doesn't SDF need justification?

Who is responsible – Bhutan Civil Aviation Authority? Department of Air Transport?, Paro Dzongkhag? Department of Tourism?, or Department of Immigration?

Is it possible that we can plead with the PDP government to consider allocating, at the most, one hundred thousandth of that famous Nu.15 billion ESP they keep dangling at us - to improve things at the Paro International Airport?

Talking of which ..... why aren’t the ABTO and the GAB taking up the issue with the authorities? Why is the lackadaisical attitude allowed to perpetuate for generations? For how long can we hope to continue to pull wool over the people’s eyes?

For God’s Sake – WE NEED TO START TO EARN OUR KEEP!!

Tiru’s Morphology

We must be among the only human race who choose to call our paper currency: Ngultrum/Ngueltang or, in plain English, Silver Coin. For a while I attempted to find out how such a bizarre thing could have come to pass - but after a while I gave up - it was simply beyond me. I decided that it must be because of our penchant for wanting to be unique.

But for those of us with a conscience, problems do not go away because we choose to side-step the issues - it will continue to haunt us to the end of our time. So, I decided to shift focus - instead of trying to find out WHY, I decided to find out WHAT?

WHAT should be the correct nomenclature?

While I was racking my brains between why and what, I am made aware of a German Tibetologist and coin collector - David Hollar - writing about a misspelling that he discovered in our Nu.10 banknote of 1981. I am hugely intrigued - thus I decide to run through the entire gamut of our banknotes - from the earliest ones issued in 1974 to the present day. That is when my attention was drawn to something that I had never before noticed - the use of the term “Rup” on the obverse of four of our earliest banknotes: Nu.1, Nu.5, Nu.10 and Nu.100.00. The scripting of the PROMISE TO PAY is worded as follows:

I am referring to our following earliest four banknotes issued in 1974 and 1975:

What the dang hell is "Rup"? Is it Rupee like the term used on our Nickel Tikchang of 1966? I consulted a Bhutanese scholar but he totally disagreed …. he opined that it could very well mean “Tikrup”. I asked another respected scholar and he told me the same - that the term “Rup” is short for “Tikrup” - that the term "Tikrup" or "Tiru" has been in use in Bhutan from ancient times - to mean: money. He went on to say that the oldest written record of the term he has come across so far appears in the Namthar (biography) of Yoenten Thaye who was our 13th Je Khenpo - from the year 1771 to 1775.

This was most revealing! How could I have missed it? When I think of it, even today the use of the term "Tikrup" or "Tiru" is more common, while “Ngueltang” is only occasionally used, if at all. For instance, if one were to listen to a conversation between a seller and a buyer in the market place, in all probability one will most likely hear the use of the term "Tiru", rather than "Ngueltang". In all likelihood, they are more likely to exchange the value of a merchandize in the amount of "Tiru" - rather than Ngueltang.

Listen carefully and in 90% of the cases you will hear it said:

Tiru Nga - instead of Ngueltang Nga!

I can bet that a Khengpa will most likely say: “Tiru khai thek bi-yai”

On the other hand a Ngalong is unlikely to say: “Ngueltang khae nga gobey"

A Sharchop will most assuredly say: "Sharchokpa baka bu tiru cha na om la"

Will Of Karma

I have said this again and again and again – that in life nothing happens by accident. If anything – things happen because of Karma. If Karma wills it, it can engineer a calamity in one corner of the earth so that another corner might benefit as a result. So it was with the BHUTAN2020 Safe Water Project – launched by the Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) in partnership with the Rotary Club of Thimphu – in 2018.

My private and personal offer of Thanks in gratitude to the principal players of Phase I of BHUTAN2020 Project

The Rotary Club of Thimphu’s single largest project – BHUTAN2020 – can be said to be a child of Karma - born of tragedy and misfortune. It was never meant to be – but for a devastating natural calamity that struck Nepal in 2015 and yet another minor one in September of 2017.

I believe that without the guiding hands of Karma, one of Bhutan’s most meaningful humanitarian projects would have never happened. Please read all about it here:

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2020/12/down-memory-lane-karmic-bhutan2020.html

Another evidence of the hand of Karma is that – in 2017 when the fire that set ablaze the idea that eventually lead to the conception of BHUTAN2020 project …. His Excellency Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was the Chief Guest for the Rotary Conference held then. Today, seven years since, when another Rotary Conference was inaugurated on the 1st of June, 2024, His Excellency Lyoenchen Tshering Tobgay is yet again the Conference’s Chief Guest.

I get this eerie feeling that COVID-19 was engineered by Karma - so that it can disrupt the Conference that was scheduled to take place in 2020 – in order that it can be postponed until 2024 when the stars would come together to create a favorable condition when His Excellency Lyoenchen Tshering Tobgay could once again be re-elected to office so that he may, yet again, inaugurate the 2nd Rotary Conference as its Chief Guest.

And, I believe that Act 3 of Karma has been the passage of a rare event – that of the convergence in Thimphu - of all the three principal actors in the BHUTAN2020 Project saga. Present in the recently concluded Rotary Conference in Thimphu on 3rd June, 2024 were: Mr. David Langworthy MAICD OAM™, the past CEO of Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) who had the courage, and the guts, to put such a monumental show on the road; Mr. Brian Ashworth the incumbent CEO of DAA whose unwavering tenacity and selflessness to deliver and see through a promise that was not his own and, above all, the presence of the most eminent Mr. Rhett Butler AM™, inventor of a patented water filtration system known as the SkyHydrant that is at the center of the project BHUTAN2020. Mr. Butler heads the SkyJuice Foundation – an Australia-based not-for-profit organization that aspires to provide safe drinking water to every child on this planet earth.

The launch of BHUTAN2020 Safe Water Project in Toronto, Canada in 2018

And, last but not the least, Karma keeps me alive and kicking – so that I may live long enough to tell this tale of boundless kindness and generosity that benefits tens of thousands of Bhutan’s school children, including the communities domiciled in the peripheries of their institutions of learning. Beyond the tens of millions that flow into Bhutan ceaselessly year after year – it is a story of success and achievement that is worth emulating across boundaries and generations.

Kadrinchey!

™ AM        =  Member of the Order of Australia

       MAICD   =  Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
       OAM       =  Medal of the Order of Australia

Three Centuries Of Errors …… and Counting!

Recently a coin collector and Tibetologist from Germany - David Holler - noticed a spelling mistake in our 1981 Nu.10 banknote and wrote as follows:

Bhutan: Spelling mistake on banknote

In the Tibetan script of the 10 Ngultrum banknote from 1981 (P8) there is a misspelling in the promise to pay.

David Holler is referring to our following second-generation Nu.10 banknote issued by the Royal Government of Bhutan but signed by the then Deputy Managing Director Mr. Yeshey Dorji of the Bank of Bhutan.

Thankfully, in the third generation of the Nu.10 banknote, signed by the then Chairman of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan – HRH Ashi S C Wangchuck, His Majesty’s Representative in the Ministry of Finance, the Promise to Pay was correctly worded as follows:

But what Mr. Holler seems to have missed out is the uncommon manner in which the Promissory Note is worded, as follows:

A word for word English translation of the above Promissory Note would read as follows:

Promise is hereby made to pay the bearer a sum of the face value of Ngultrum 10

It would appear that Mr. Hollar omitted to pointed out the mistake contained in the country's first Nu.10 banknote, as follows:

The banknote bears the signature of HRH Ashi S C Wangchuck, His Majesty's Representative in the Ministry of Finance but the organization on whose behalf she signs is designated the Department of Finance, as follows:

The organization should have rightfully been named the Ministry of Finance, as follows:

The above errors are minor design flaws – what is truly shameful is the manner in which we have spelt the word: NGULTRUM. It should have been correctly spelt as: NGUELTANG:

Nguel = Silver

Tang = Coin

That being said, calling our paper currency “Ngultrum” or even “Ngueltang” would be totally incorrect - because our banknotes are neither silver, nor coin. Regardless, if I were to choose between the two words, I would opt for the word “Ngueltang” since it has the backing of the legitimacy of history behind it - the history behind the emergence of one of the three earliest of our monies - our metal currency. It is too lengthy to deal with the subject here - I will do so in my book, when it is eventually released.

Another discrepancy: History records that the term “Ngultrum/Ngueltang” was coined when we issued our paper currency for the first time in 1974. But the country’s earliest Postage Stamp issued in 1962 is proof that the term was in existence more than a decade earlier, if not more. The following is the history of the morphology of the term:

To be fair, perhaps it is in our genes to commit errors – and allow it to perpetuate for centuries thereafter. Look at one of the following earliest of our metal currencies. Of the nine alphabets hammered on it, most likely sometime during the late 1700s, eight of them are foreign alphabets. Only one: SA is our own.

In a number of cases, the coins’ dies were wrongly engraved – resulting in the following coin’s alphabet “SA” being rendered in a mirrored state:

A large number of coins were over-struck, as follows:

Even our earliest milled silver coins were not without problems. Look at the following Silver Thala of 1929/1930. The word “Druk” is wrongly rendered while the date of minting was depicted wrongly – as “Sa Druk Lo” while the actual striking took place during “Sa Drue Lo”.

An erroneous issue of our 1950 Tikchang is considered one of Bhutan’s rarest coins – for the reason that it was struck with the wrong date of “Sa Druk Lo”. The Calcutta GoI Mint where the coins were minted, had mistakenly used the wrong die - the correct die should have been the one with the year of minting marked “Chaag Taag Lo”. The mistake was detected and the minting of the coin was hastily halted.

Of all the calamitous errors, the following coin of 1966 is the most deplorable - you can see the reason why:

The above is the coin for the reason for which my coin book will stop at 1955.

Changing Tack - A New Method of Communication

This will be my 109th article on Bhutan's tourism industry - and its progressive decadence over the years. But this time I am changing tack - I am switching to using visuals - rather than words - to convey the message. Hopefully, this will be more effective.

The government was fore-warned close to a decade back that this will happen - should MDPR business model be dismantled.

A peak into the future - you think you have seen trouble?

How the government's policies seem to be altering the very moral and ethical fibre of the Bhutanese people

It appears that our famous GNH doctrine has outlived its usefulness - it is now all set for the boot!

Call for the need for re-engineering of a new breed of Bhutanese

BHUTAN: The Emerging High Volume – Low Value Tourism Destination

Day before yesterday I was passing by Norzin Lam when I chanced upon a heart-breaking scene that ought not to be.

Four tourists were cramped inside a small Maruti Taxi – one of them was alighting – visibly irritated and profusely grumbling that she did not need to suffer this level of discomfort.

I wanted to photograph the scene – but decided against it because I believed that this would be tantamount to infringement of privacy – in addition to rubbing salt into the wound.

The legendary Lars-Eric Lindblad. He was a Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer. He and his USA-based travel company - Lindblad Travel -  led the first-ever tour group to Bhutan in 1974. Supposedly the Darjeeling-based Jesuit Father Richard McDonald and his tour company Summit Tours introduced Lindblad to Bhutan.

Lindblad died of a sudden heart attack on 8th of July 1994. At the end, the man with an unputdownable pioneering spirit died a broken and bankrupt man - most likely caused by the penalty of US$ 75,000.00 (in addition to huge legal costs) imposed on his company by the government of USA - for conducting tours to Vietnam and Cambodia - two countries against which there was then a trade embargo imposed by the US government.

It is my belief that tour guides of yore -  the likes of Galing Ngawang Dorji and Sharchop Karchung of present day Lhomen Tours, including the then DoT official Sangey of Ha Wangcha would have had the good fortune to meet the legend.

I spoke about the plight of the tourists to a hapless tourism guide …. and he tells me that now the trained TCB guides are losing their jobs to taxi drivers – because apparently, they are now claiming to be able to provide the service which was earlier, by law, in the domain of the TCB trained and certified guides.

A week back, I was caught with my pants down - literally - inside the toilet of Thimphu’s Kaja Throm – because a friend in the tourism trade decided to call me at that precise moment – and kept me engaged for 10 minutes – grumbling endlessly about the lack of a photocopy machine at the tourist point of entry - to make a copy of his tourists’ papers that the officers needed to process their Entry Permits. The fuming friend wanted to know what the government was doing with the collection of the daily Sustainable Development Fee of US$100.00 per tourist per day – that they are unable to outfit their offices with the most basic, but important and essential office equipment – such as a photocopy machine? Seriously, there are barely four tourist entry points in the country – I mean how is it possible that the TCB or whoever is responsible – is not able to install 4 copiers in the whole of the country - to improve service and experience for the visiting tourists? For God’s sake – they can charge for the service and people will be happy to pay!

And we like to pride ourselves as a High Value, High End Tourism destination! Or, is it High Value – Low Volume Tourism? ---- So utterly confusing! Regardless of what the catch phrase is – we have now arrived at a point that is proving to be: High Volume – Low Value Tourism that is not accruing any benefit – not to the DRC, not to the RMA – and most definitely NOT TO THE INDUSTRY.

A Well-Deserved Honor And Recognition

When I got to learn of the award of the title of Doctor of Philosophy to Lam Kezang Chhoephel by the Thames International University of France, I felt a sense of pride and triumph! To be chosen to rise head and shoulder above the teaming billions, particularly from a minuscule country that more than 99% of the human population would not have heard about - it is a praiseworthy achievement.

Dr. Lam Kezang Chhoephel

By no means I am competent, or even qualified, to pass judgment on his academic or scholastic abilities - I will leave that to people and organizations such as the Thames International University to decide. But I dare say that I have had a number of occasions when I was awestruck by his uncanny ability to provide answers to my questions that I most likely would not have gotten from anyone else in Bhutan, or elsewhere. He has unfailingly proven to be a source, and a depository, for a vast and uncommon knowledge and information on Bhutan and most things Bhutanese.

Over the years since I began my research journey in matters related to our ancient coinage, I have gotten used to making him my first stop - in the pursuit of answers and explanations. For sure he has enriched my documentation of Bhutan's coinage with rare terms such as: “Tsa-Thue”, “Karshapani”, “Ngingtang Ghatikap”, “Grab Tsring .... Grab Tsring”, “Luna Yar Mathop – Ghatika Mar Shorsong” etc. etc.

Thus, day before yesterday, I went to see Lam Kezang Chhoephel - to offer him my congratulatory Dhar. Along with it, I also offered him the following statue of the Golden Buddha gifted to me by the Most Venerable Lam Phra Kruba Bunchum Yannasangvaro Aranyavasi Bhikku of Thailand, in 2016. Certainly Lam Kezang is a more worthy person to own a sculpture of such exquisite craftsmanship:

The exquisite statue of the Golden Buddha

Upon being conferred the following Recognition, as of 14th April, 2024, Lam Kezang Chhoephel earns the right to be addressed as:

Dr. Lam Kezang Chhoephel

The Certificate of Award issued by the Thames International University, France

Dr. Lam Kezang Chhoephel makes us all proud!

Bhutan's Tourism Industry: Disaster Foretold

During early 2022, a select group of BSTS Members met the Chair of the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) in his Chamber at the Gyelyong Tshokhang - in an effort to forestall the dismantling of Bhutan's globally celebrated tourism business model that worked successfully for close to half a century since its institution. This was one of the many desperate attempts made by a passionate group desperate to save the tourism industry from utter ruin - the last and final attempt was made on 22nd June, 2022 when we met the National Assembly's Economic and Finance Committee - in yet another attempted to save the industry from being driven into the ground.

During the Meeting with the Chair of the TCB, following points were submitted in writing:

------------------------

PITFALLS OF DISMANTLING THE MINIMUM DAILY PACKAGE RATE (MDPR)

Submitted to:

His Excellency (Dr) Lyonpo Tandi Dorji

Chair, Tourism Council of Bhutan

Copy to:

Director General

TCBs

Submitted by:

The Working Group Members

Bhutan Sustainable Tourism Society (BSTS)

Points in bullet form:  The Consequences

1. Influx of undesirable tourists

2. Massive decline in foreign exchange inflow

3. Rampant tax evasion – reduction in revenue to the exchequer

4. Hoteliers will suffer the most

5. Fronting – risk of external players taking over the country’s tourism business

6. Cultural dilution and environmental degradation

7. Decline in quality services/products and visitor experience

8. The preferred OPTION: increase in the MDPR

EXPANDED NARRATIVE

The pricing policy of Bhutan based on a Minimum Daily Package Rate (MDPR) is one of the unique features of Bhutan’s tourism development initiative that is held in great admiration by many countries.

In the pursuit of our tourism vision of ‘High Value Low Impact’, the MDPR remains the principal catalyst that has helped the tourism industry grow at an even pace and in the desired direction. Removing this tool would have long-term consequences on the government and the people of Bhutan.

In brief following are some of the obvious consequences:

1. Influx of undesirable tourists: Brand Bhutan has successfully positioned Bhutan as one of the top travel destinations. There is a huge desire in the market to visit Bhutan. So, when we have the opportunity to capitalize in choosing the top end market, removing the MDPR will only weaken this opportunity by making it easier for influx of undesirable tourists.

2. Massive decline in foreign exchange inflow: Presently tourism is the top foreign exchange earner. This is largely attributed to the implementation of the MDPR.

3. Rampant tax evasion: The application of the MDPR ensures that the business of tourism is well regulated and transparent. Removing it will open up opportunities for tax evasion.

4. Hoteliers will suffer the most: While every segment in the business chain will suffer, the hoteliers will stand to bear the major brunt, if the MDPR is removed. The current thinking that they would benefit will not be true. MDPR sets aside a reasonably good amount to meet the room cost. Removing the MDPR would mean the need to succumb to lower room rents considering the stiff competition between the hotels and other accommodation facilities.

5. Fronting: Fronting may already exist, albeit at a small scale. Dismantling the MDPR would encourage the emergence of external players who would begin to decide the direction of our tourism business. They become the masters.

6. Cultural dilution and environmental degradation: Unregulated tourism activities will pave the way for mass tourism and culturally/environmentally insensitive people to overwhelm the country. Our two main pillars of tourism – Nature and Culture will come under direct threat.

7. Decline in quality services/products and visitor experience: Removing the minimum pricing policy would lead to the emergence of negotiated payments with service providers and product developers. This would mean less earnings, resulting in poor service and visitor experience – a direct conflict to our professed tourism philosophy of ensuring high value and satisfying experience to the visitors.

Conclusion 

No system is perfect and we are aware that several problems do exist in the tourism sector. The problems can be addressed if we take an objective and focused approach on those issues but not at the cost of dismantling the MDPR. The MDPR needs to be understood as a tool to improve our services, protect our Brand Bhutan, and add value to the overall growth of sustainable/high value tourism. The success of the MDPR can be seen by the rapid increase in socio-economic development of our people. Believing that the MDPR is an impediment to the growth of tourism is a falsehood – at best it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the principals on which the concept was founded. On the other hand, what is true is that it has empowered the Bhutanese people to have control over tourism growth. Therefore, removing it would have dire consequences on the country and the people of Bhutan.

If ever a change is deemed necessary, the beneficial change would be to increase the MDPR even higher, from the existing level, which has remained unchanged for years.

A case in point – to demonstrate that the MDPR of US$250.00 is not a deterrent is the approach of the high-end hotel chains like the Aman Kora and the Six Senses. Their daily package rates range anywhere between US$1,500.00 – US$4,500.00. Thus, when our country has the potential and opportunity to tap into the high-end market why be foolish to pave way for adversity.

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Sadly, our above submission was entirely sidelined – the MDPR was consequently demolished – upon passing of the Tourism Levy Act of Bhutan 2022, by the National Assembly of Bhutan during its 29th Session (2nd June to 4th July, 2022.

It did not take too long for our near prophetic predictions to be proven right - the Kuensel, on 11th May, 2024, carried the following news report:

The truth of the failure - as reported by the Kuensel in their news report of 11.05.2024

You can see that we predicted – almost incident-by-incident – what would happen. Sadly, for us, it is not a matter for cheer. In fact, we mourn that we were so totally accurate in our predictions.

Now that the government has had a taste of their pudding, it is our hope that they would have the humility to accept that they have erred ….. that it is time to make amends so that the country’s most vital industry can begin to crawl back to life and its former glory.

BHUTANESE TOURISM INDUSTRY's ANGST: We Told You So!

It is a pity - I ought to listen to my friends and their sound counsel more often than I am wont to do. One hundred and six (106) articles of relentless pursuit of the cause of Bhutan’s tourism …. and I have nothing to show for it. Friends tell me that there cannot be a greater fool than me - that even when it is clear as night and day that no one else gives a rat’s ass - I am still chasing the cause, and extolling the merits of, tourism. And yet, I like to think that if I knock long and hard enough …. the dead will likely eventually rise!

The country was forewarned - time and time again - of the eventuality of the following - under a dismantled MDPR scenario:

This was bound to happen! Even more sinister problems are fomenting with tacit approval of the government.

Under the MDPR regime, the above would have NEVER arisen. The MDPR protected both the tourists and the operators, including the entire gamut of players in the tourism business chain - from incidences of none payment or from none-delivery of promised services. The taxman remained assured that there would be no cases of evasion - the industry was fully under the control and grip of the national operators - rather than in the hands of the carpetbaggers from outside which is rumored to be NOW the trend in Bhutan’s tourism industry.

Today there are rumblings of cash dealings - resulting in unrecorded, clandestine transections that cannot be detected - unlike in the past under the MDPR regime. I am told that some government agencies are perplexed by the severe dip in inflow of foreign exchange and tax collection - despite the government’s claim of a quantum jump in tourist arrivals.

The government and the TCB cannot feign ignorance because they were forewarned - on countless occasions, including with a Note that was submitted to them many months before the passage of the ruinous Tourism Levy Act of Bhutan 2022 which, in part, read as follows:

Conclusion 

No system is perfect and we are aware that several problems do exist in the tourism sector. The problems can be addressed if we take an objective and focused approach on those issues but not at the cost of dismantling the MDPR. The MDPR needs to be understood as a tool to improve our services, protect our Brand Bhutan, and add value to the overall growth of sustainable/high value tourism. The success of the MDPR can be seen by the rapid increase in socio-economic development of our people. Believing that the MDPR is an impediment to the growth of tourism is a falsehood - at best it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the principals on which the concept was founded. On the other hand, what is true is that it has empowered the Bhutanese people to have control over tourism growth. Therefore, removing it would have dire consequences on the country and the people of Bhutan. 

If ever a change is deemed necessary, the beneficial change would be to increase the MDPR even higher, from the existing level, which has remained unchanged for years.”

Will the government finally listen to the voices of the sane and the knowledgeable? A sitting government’s responsibility includes dismantling past evils - trying to get away by saying that they did not do it is - LAME!

Journey of Mercy & Optimism

This was a journey of hope and mercy that I ought to have made by mid-February this year. But life teaches us to accept that compromise is the rule - that there will always be occasions when IMMEDIATE is more pressing than URGENT. Anyway, I was finally able to make my long overdue journey to the fabled Trashiyangtse - on the 1st of May, 2024.

On this trip I did not carry my bird photography gear because as a bird photographer, it dawned on me early in life that fundamental to my journeys will always be the fulfillment of my life’s passion - bird photography. Photography will always be my final destination! On this trip I needed to remain focused on making it to my geographical destination in time ---- and make the return journey without any distractions.

I had the opportunity to finally test out the recent phenomenal gift of the mirrorless Canon R5 camera body. Coupled with a 200mm zoom lens, I shot the distant image of Gangkhar Puensoom from atop Shingner, above Ura in Bumthang. The following massively cropped image will testify to the competence of the famed camera body that boasts one of the highest megapixels of any Canon camera body.

The above image of Gangkhar Puensoom was shot with a 200mm Canon Zoom Lens from atop Shingner in Ura, Bumthang. In order to test its sharpness and resolution, the original image was cropped by about 60%. As can be seen, even at this level of cropping, the image comes through extremely sharp and smooth!

At Trashiyangtse, I photographed the famous Chorten Kora. I wasn’t so terribly enamored by the Chorten because I had visited the place many times in the part – the first time was when I was just 11 years old!

The famed Chorten Kora located in Trashiyangtse. It has a unique annual cultural festival during which time even Dakpas from Tawang in Arunachal Pradhesh of India come visiting.

On my return journey yesterday, I stopped by the wayside - past Rukubji - to record the following photograph of a signboard of a Solar Farm under construction.

The changing face of Bhutan's energy production landscape. Looks like solar energy is going to be an important part of our focus - compact, manageable in terms of size, financing and technology, faster return on investment, less perilous in terms of financial and political bondage etc. Although claimed to be less harmful to the environment, it is a claim that I am not yet prepared to accept whole-heartedly. I think there are aspects that we are ignoring. Still, I believe that harnessing the power of the sun is the lesser evil way of doing things.

The above project - coupled with a few other ongoing installations that I have noticed around the country, encourages me to believe that Bhutan is now onto a new phase in our aspirations in the area of energy production. The phenomenal surge in domestic consumption of electricity and the shift away from the traditional method of energy production and financing, tells me that we have encouraging future ahead of us. I hope we stay the course.

On a different note, I am happy that I have finally been able to deliver the promised gift of a complete set of bird photography camera gear for use by the students of Trashiyangtse Primary School – to vitalize their Birdwatching Club started by their teacher Lopon Tandin Wangdi.

The gift was made even more meaningful - by the fact that it was gifted on 2nd of May - a day celebrated in Bhutan as Teachers’ Day.

But I came back a worried man. The primary purpose of my trip was to deliver assistance to three little school girls in Trashiyangtse. It is not that they were found wanting in any way - they are all growing up to be healthy, responsible girls. But I can see that a situation is developing - quite naturally and normally - that has me worried for the future. It is a situational development that I cannot interfere with - it has to - and it will come to pass - as a natural progression of life. But in its passing, the disruption of life and living that it will cause - that is what is worrying me. Sadly, as of now, I am not prepared - rather, I am not sure how I should go about tackling the problem that is imminent.