For many years, Bhutan has flown under the radar as a tourist destination — and the kingdom likes to keep it that way.
Since opening to foreign travellers in 1974, Bhutan has favoured conservation over tourism, taking a “high value, low volume” approach.
Visitors were made to take a package-like approach to travel, paying a daily rate of at least $250 to cover accommodation, food and a mandatory tour guide, as well as a $65 “sustainable development fee”, which went to the government.
The approach helped the kingdom to easily control both visitor numbers and where they could go in the country, helping to minimise their impact on its natural surroundings.
However, as of September 23, when the country reopens its borders, things are set to change. Tourists will no longer be required to pre-book package tours, meaning accommodation, individual tours and meals will be paid for separately. Additionally, the current $65 daily charge will more than triple to $200 a day.
According to UK travel experts, the change is set to seriously impact visitor numbers to the kingdom. However, the new policy will cement Bhutan as an “exclusive” destination and allow a “renewed focus” on sustainability.
“Covid-19 has allowed us to reset — to rethink how the sector can be best structured and operated, so that it not only benefits Bhutan economically, but socially as well, while keeping carbon footprints low,” said Dr Tandi Dorji, foreign minister of Bhutan and chairman of the Tourism Council of Bhutan. “In the long run, our goal is to create high-value experiences for visitors, and well-paying and professional jobs for our citizens.”
However, several tourism companies operating in Bhutan have expressed concern about what the rising costs will mean for visitor numbers.
“One of our most challenging but popular treks in Bhutan is the 27-day Bhutan Snowman Trek. It ranks among the very finest anywhere in the Himalaya but, if the price rise goes ahead, clients will be paying almost £9,000 ($10,700), rather than the current cost of £5,890 ($7,000),” said Gordon Steer, UK manager for World Expeditions.
“Increasing the price of a trek by 50 per cent will have huge impact on the future of Bhutan’s tourism industry and, after two years of Covid-19, would leave us very worried about the potential impact for the livelihoods of our colleagues within Bhutan.”
However, officials say the new approach is designed to safeguard the kingdom for generations to come. “Tourism is a strategic and valuable national asset, one that does not only impact those working in the sector but all Bhutanese,” said Dorji Dhradhul, director general, Tourism Council of Bhutan. “Ensuring its sustainability is vital to safeguarding future generations.”
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Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
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Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
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Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
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Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
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3. Spread of infectious diseases
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Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
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Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
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▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
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What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
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FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
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“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
