Agency: As the Nu 96 mn airfare subsidy is launched, the tour operators have a different view on the feasibility and rationality of this execution.
“The Ministry is taking steps to help the tourism industry, and we appreciate that, but it was too short of a notice for us, and tourists plan holidays months or even a year ahead of schedule,” said a tour operator.
The tour operators say that instead of implementing subsidies on lean months, the government could rationalize the air fare in general so that it would be easier for the visitors to plan ahead of time, and would make a big dent in the tourism sector.
They said that this would boost the tourism sector and the effects would be immediate.
Another tour operator added that from a dollar paying visitor’s perspective, the subsidy is insignificant as they already have to pay for other amenities such as the SDF, the guides, and their hotels. He alludes to an example of a normal dollar paying tourist’s stay in Bhutan.
