Tourism news Nepal May 20, 2004 Vol.4 no. 14 (Translated from Nepali)

With new enthusiasm and courage, Kinley Tshering a Bhutanese man has entered the Tourism industry with the hope of starting some adventure around the Himalayas which did not exist before. While he was studying in Austria, he met with some Austrian like minded people who had the same idea, he realized that motorcycling tours was a great product that the Himalayas missed with good world class machines, as a result Himalayan Adventures was born, prior to that Kinley was working as a tour manager in one of the biggest touring companies in Bhutan.

Press: When did you enter the Tourism Business?
Kinley: I got into the trade as soon as I completed my University. Therein I worked for 2 years gaining experience, I went on further to get trained in Tourism related work in Austria for a year and then started Himalayan Adventures after I got back to my country.

Press: How is the Tourism scene in Bhutan?
Kinley: Our country has a policy of ‘Low Impact High Value’ Tourism slogan. We have low volume of tourists but we cater a very high level of service and ensure value for money as we realize that holiday makers from Western countries and else where work hard and save money and time to be on holiday to Asia. Hence we ensure that our guests receive their value for money and also make sure that every trip we organize becomes a journey of a lifetime!

Press: How many tourists visit Bhutan in a year and what is their distribution in terms of nationalities?
Kinley: We have about 6000 tourists a year, mostly Americans, Germans, English and Japanese that occupy the top ten followed by other nationalities throughout the world.

Press: How is the relation between Bhutan and Nepal in terms of Tourism?
Kinley: Presently Nepal-Bhutan has a great relation interms of Tourism. Most Tour Operators in Nepal sell Bhutan, because Nepal has good air connections. Druk air too flies Kathmandu 3 times a week, and there are plans that Druk air will fly Paro- Kathmandu 7 days a week and this will enhance better connections, as many tourists would like to see Nepal and Bhutan once they travel to the Himalayas.

Press: Right now you are organizing the first ever Motorcycle tour 2004 from Bhutan, Nepal to Tibet, what type of Tour is this and what aim do you have?
Kinley: This is a new type of programme ever to be undertaken with Bhutanese registered bikes riding from Bhutan to Nepal and Tibet. The aim is to also foster cooperation with our Nepali counterpart and undertake a joint expedition right till Tibet riding through harsh conditions in Tibet and the Himalayas. We have 7 KTM 640CC machines and 01 950cc KTM machine, the machine are world class and efficient, the main aim is to have the best adventure ride and give our clients a journey of a life time seeing the entire Himalayas from the foothills to the great peaks of the world and everything in between. In future we will also undertake similar expeditions in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong regions and combine it with Bhutan. This I feel will do great justice to our clients as they will see a lot and the destinations are all great for Cultural Touring and Trekking and also Motorcycling with good safe traffic conditions.