travel news review


3 May '99
The Bhutanese government's long-standing ban on television is set to end on 2 June, the 25th anniversary of King Jigme Singye Wangchuk's coronation. Bhutan will become the last country in the world to have its own television broadcasting station, initially broadcasting only to the national capital of Thingpu in English and Dzongkha, the national language. Its primary aim will be to serve as a cultural and artistic platform, and the ban of satellite dishes will continue other than in exceptional circumstances, such as when some sports associations were last year allowed to broadcast World Cup games. A full Internet service will be inaugurated at the same time to complement the existing national email service.

19 March '99
A summit of 30 policy advisers, intellectuals, government officials and charity organisations has been unable to agree on how to define Gross National Happiness (GNH). The concept of GNH as a national indicator was first proposed by His Majesty the King of Bhutan in the early 80s as an alternative to consumerist models of economic development, but developing measures of the concept has proven to be a difficult process.

The Chairman of the Bhutanese cabinet, Mr Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, suggested four platforms to measuring GNH: economic development, environmental preservation, cultural promotion and good governance. The summit was coordinated by the Planning Commission Secretariat as part of compiling the isolated Himalayan kingdom's first National Human Development Report.

19 February '99
Indian health authorities are confident that within three years they will have eradicated leprosy as a public health problem. Their confidence springs from the results of a national campaign conducted over the past 12 months in conjunction with the World Health Organisation [WHO] to isolate hidden incidences of the disease. A public health problem is defined as an incidence rate of over one per 10,000 members of the population. Bhutan, Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka have already bettered this target, while Myanmar, Bangladesh and Indonesia expect to reach it by the end of next year.

India currently accounts for 65% of leprosy infections worldwide. Contrary to common opinion, leprosy is curable at all stages of onset, is mostly non-infectious and, in the 30% of infectious cases, multi-drug therapy renders the patient non-infectious within a few days.

25 January '99
The small Himalayan kingdom's liquor licensing regulations are also set to be liberalised by the Ministry for Trade and Industry. Licensing fees will be reduced from March onwards, but other limits will remain. Bars are not permitted to operate near dzongs, educational institutions and other culturally significant sites, and they will continue to be closed on Tuesdays, the national 'dry' day. Bhutanese officials maintain that the changes do not signal a change of policy. 'We do not want to develop tourism at the cost of our cultural heritage,' said the Minister for Trade and Industry, Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk.

25 January '99
Bhutan's government, famous for adhering to a policy of 'restricted' tourism and socioeconomic development, is relaxing its stranglehold on tourism - but only just. In an effort to increase national revenue, foreign exchange reserves and employment opportunities, the number of licensed tour operators will be increased from the current 33. All tourists to Bhutan (except for Indian nationals) are required to book their trips with one of the tour operators - at the flat fee of US$200 per day. New operators will hold the first licenses granted since the tourism industry's privatisation in 1991. The Tourism Authority of Bhutan has already received 77 applications from interested tour operators-to-be who are after a slice of the lucrative tourist cake.

29 April '98
The most sacred Buddhist temple in Bhutan, the TigerÆs Lair Monastery, has been destroyed by fire. The monastery, which was about 1200 years old, was located outside the central Bhutanese town of Paro and was venerated by BhutanÆs Buddhists. It had been closed to foreign visitors for more than 10 years. At least three monks died in the fire and many sacred texts and icons were destroyed. The fire is believed to have been caused by one of the hundreds of oil lamps burning throughout the monastery.