ABTO& CBI collaboration ensures quality boost for Bhutan’s tourism sector

Thimphu, 9^stJune, 2014

In a cordial and productive atmosphere CBI and ABTO, the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators, discussed the best areas for collaboration between the two institutes. The goal: to better support Bhutanese tour operators in their efforts to attract new clients to their country, in line with the ‘High Value – Low Impact’ tourism policy of the Bhutanese government.

Bhutan’s tourism industry continued to grow in 2013 with a +10.25% increase over the previous yearcontributing significantly to GDP receipts, currency reserves, and employment generation in thecountry. For this reason, the Royal Government of Bhutan continues to accord high priority to the industry as a major engine of economic growth.

To support these endeavours, 16 Bhutanese tourism companies have been selected for the Export Coaching Programme (ECP) Tourism – for the first time in CBI history! The ECP programme kicked off with a one week intensive export marketing training (EXPRO)in The Hague in March this year, where the companies have been trained in the art of writing an Export Marketing plan. To give them an extra strategy boost, the companies,hosted by ABTO, now attended a webinar and group sessions on business planning and management skills and received individual tailored business coaching.

Several meetings were held with key stakeholders. In line with Bhutan’s target to increase its number of visitors, a clear need was expressed for capacity building of a much wider group of industry stakeholders. This prompted ABTO & CBI to extend their collaboration.

CBI will not only keep supporting the 16 selected ECP companies, but will also help strengthen the organisational capacity of ABTO and upscale the EXPRO to a much wider group of industry stakeholders, training institutions and business support organisations in Bhutan. The Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) fully supports the initiative and has offered to use their conference hall to accommodate the training activities.

This collaboration betweenCBI and ABTO will ensure that the tourism sector in Bhutan as a whole will be strengthened. With an MoU on the way, both organisations look forward to supporting the tour operators in their efforts to develop new products and convince more people to discovers the wonders of Bhutan for themselves.

For further information: abto.org.bt| www.cbi.eu