India Blooms News Service
Thimpu: As many as 6,000 international tourists paying the new Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) have arrived in Bhutan since the border reopened six months ago.
Another 7000 tourists paying the old tariff visited the country in the same period, reported The Bhutan Live. To attract more tourists, the Tourism Department is working on introducing family-oriented tourism products and making Bhutan an all-season destination, the news portal reported.
Since 23rd September last year, up until yesterday, the country received around 31,000 tourists. More than half of them were from the region. Just before the pandemic, in 2019 the country recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals at more than 315 thousand.
Carissa Nimah, the Chief Marketing Officer at the department, told the news portal that while Bhutan needs to create itineraries around families on one hand, there is also a need to make sure that the hotels and tour operators in the country are capable of catering to families.
“For instance, maybe it is time to look at having more family facilities in hotels like children’s rooms and children’s dens. Maybe allocate one room as a children’s club.”
She also said more nannies and babysitters have to be employed in hotels besides coming up with nicely designed, special children’s menus. “Not just full of fried foods but healthy meals for children. So, I think there is potential.”
That’s particularly good news for those with diesel vehicles. According to the latest daily snapshot from the Central Energy Fund, diesel is looking set for a price reduction of around 60 cents a litre from early April. But due to a strong over-recovery, that figure is growing by the day and in the coming week it could rise to around 75 cents if current trends persist.
It’s less rosy on the petrol front, where we’re currently seeing an over-recovery of around one cent per litre, growing by around one cent per day, so if oil prices hold steady, a small decrease of 5 to 10 cents could be on the cards.
Of course, the official fuel prices will only be announced in early April, and other factors, such as the Slate Levy – which compensates fuel companies for oil price discrepancies during the preceding month – could also come into play, either in our favour or against.
And although it’s good news that the fuel price equation has turned positive, a minor petrol price cut will come as little relief for motorists, who had to absorb a R1.27 increase at the beginning of March. This pushed the price of 95 Unleaded petrol up to R22.30 at the coast, while 93 Unleaded now retails at R22.65 inland.
The Ethiopian Herald March 25/2023
