Thank God! it seems like the mainstream media in the country is finally waking up to the despair that Bhutan’s tourism industry is currently going through. That said, I suspect that they are still not clear as to what really is the problem with the country’s most vital industry. The following article in the Kuensel is proof that they need better grounding in the subject.
Calling a sheep a goat
Talking of which, I would like to repeat my word of caution once again: Act without delay in correcting the policy misadventures that have been committed in the tourism industry. That small window of opportunity is on the verge of being closed forever. The acts of immorality – the likes of the scam in Taktsang will seem like a half-hearted joke - should we fail to extricate the industry from its current state of stupor. Remember, when the people’s sense of honor and valor are impounded – when the main streets are barricaded - people will begin to resort to walking the lanes and the by-lanes.
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Now, finally, here is someone who has his head screwed-on on the right place!!! Do I dare hope that the Bhutanese people will finally be liberated from the oppressive and illogical dogmas of the pseudo religious lot?
Meating the demand through internal production!
If we accept that we are born meat-eaters, we have a fundamental right to gather food that is God assigned. Food gathering – any food – should be our birth-right! Thus, it is correct that we should be allowed to produce our own meat – safe meat.
Talking of which, it is high time that we do away with this misbegotten rule that imposes a ban on the sale of meat during certain months. We all know that what is achieved by this senseless rule is exactly the opposite of what is intended. And yet, this has gone on for decades. Because of the impending ban, animals are slaughtered many weeks and months before their time. Additionally, since meat becomes unavailable, people resort to stocking meat for long periods of time - a practice that is both medically unsafe and financially burdensome.
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Here we are at it yet again – forever catching the bull by its tail – flogging the same old dead horse!!! I wonder if we will ever be rid of this delusional perception that we can be a player on the world stage?
Think: If a produce grown few thousand KMs away can be sold cheaper in Bhutan than that which we grow at home, how can you hope to be competitive in the global arena?
Let us admit:
~ We do not have the scale;
~ We have a confused goal – we are uncertain what we want:
food self-sufficiency or fruit self-sufficiency;
~ Our competition talks of millions of hectors of plantation –
we talk of few thousand acres spread over mountain tops
and plunging ravines;
~ We are landlocked – bulk movement of goods is impossible;
~ We are too far removed from the market – our transportation
cost is too high to be competitive in far-flung markets;
~ Our sense of costing is topsy-turvy;
~ Our government focuses on production - while farmers pine
for help in marketing and distribution;
~ Worst of all - we are blind to the opportunities that stare in our
faces at home, while we are starry-eyed in the pursuit of
none-existent markets beyond borders;
~ The government aspires the agriculture sector to contribute to
our vision of US$5 billion GDP by 2029 through exports
of commodities – while a more realistic and attainable
approach would be to aspire to realize import substitution - at
double that sum.
It is sad – but that is the way the cookie crumbles. If it helps, I would like to leave you with a beautiful documentary titled “The Economics of Happiness” – we find more than a passing spot in the film. Even better – it makes sense in our situation.
Please watch it to the end – it will take your breath away!
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