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Tiger's Nest Monastery

I had posted earlier that Bhutan was planning a rate increase for 2011. However, they’ve delayed the increase until 2012 because of the relatively slow economy. The new base rate will be $250 per person for groups of 3 or more. That’s a $50 increase over the old base rate of $200. Surcharges for groups of 2 are still $30 per person, and $70 for individual travelers ($40 surcharge plus $30 single supplement for hotel room). Our experience has been that rates for longer treks are even more expensive than the standard rates. In addition, there will no longer be low season rates.

Bhutan is an expensive country and will be getting signicantly more expensive. So, plan your trip soon.

I was at the Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference in Kathmandu last February and delegates were talking about how Bhutan had hired McKinsey consultants to analyze their tourism industry and we’re told that they should increase their rates and let 10 times more people in the country than they currently do. We think that would be a travesty, but realistically it would take many, many years iof infrastructure development to handle a 10-fold increase in the numbers of tourists.
 

Filed under : Bhutan, Trekking and Climbing, Tweets

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We’ve received word from the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) that the government is going to increase rates starting next year. They were planning to do this in 2010, but the recession caused them to delay the implementation. The new base rate will be $250 per person for groups of 3 or more. That’s a $50 increase over the old base rate of $200. Surcharges for groups of 2 are still $30 per person, and $70 for individual travelers ($40 surcharge plus $30 single supplement for hotel room). Our experience has been that rates for longer treks are even more expensive than the standard rates. In addition, there will no longer be low season rates.

Of course, these rates are for staying in standard hotels, which are generally in the 2 to 3 star category. To upgrade hotels to the Ziwaling, Uma Paro, and Taj Tashi, it can be several hundred dollars more per night.

Rates are the same whether you’re trekking and camping or staying in the standard hotels, although longer treks like the Snowman can have higher rates due to the extra logistical support required.

Filed under : Bhutan, Business and Trade, Trekking and Climbing

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