List of VIP ClientsList of VIP Clients
I would like to tell you a little about my
country and my company.
Bhutan is a small Buddhist Kingdom situated in the
eastern Himalayas about the size of Switzerland. Sandwiched between
China in the North and India in the South the country maintained
a policy of virtual isolation until the early 1960's. We
slowly opened our doors to the outside world and began the process
of development. We have a population of approximately 600 000 people.
85% of the population are farmers. The system of Government is a unique
form of Democratic Monarchy. All education and medical facilities are
free of charge. We have placed great emphasis on the preservation
of our environment. At present 72% of the land is under forest cover .It
is of prime importance to the people of Bhutan that we
preserve our heritage, our way of life and our
environment. Because of the country’s extremely high level of
biodiversity, Bhutan has been identified as one of the ten global
hotspots and a key region on earth for environmental
conservation.
Bhutan permitted the first tourists to enter the country in 1974. For 15 years, Tourism was managed and controlled by the Bhutan Tourism Corporation, which was a part of the Ministry of Communications. In 1989, the Royal Government privatized the Tourism Industry. This led to the establishment of private travel companies, of which there are currently over 80 in operation. A Government body called the Department of Tourism (DoT) monitors the Tourism Industry and sets the standard daily tariffs to be charged by the tour operators. 35% of the daily rate is to be paid back to the DoT by travel agents, as royalty. This is to encourage the Royal Government's policy of " high quality, low volume " tourism. In 2003, the total number of tourists that visited Bhutan was just over 7000.
Bhutan is accessible by air from Bangkok, New
Delhi, Calcutta, Dhaka and Kathmandu. Our national airline, Druk Air,
operates to these sectors from Paro, a valley one and a half hours drive
from the capital, Thimphu. It is also possible to enter Southern Bhutan
overland by car from Northern India.
Chhundu Travels was first established in 1986 as, primarily, a ticketing company. In 1987, we were appointed the Representative for American Express in Bhutan. We introduced the first traveller's cheques and credit cards to be accepted in the country. We began booking tours with the Department of Tourism, as international agents would, on occasion, find responses to be slow and seek our assistance. Subsequently, we began to subcontract tours for the Department. In 1989, we began ground operations for our own groups and have consistently been one of the top ten tour companies on the DoT's published list. We specialize in FIT travel and have made arrangements for most VIP's that visit Bhutan. ( A list of our VIP clients is attached ). This is mentioned in the Lonely Planet Gguidebook on Bhutan . We pride ourselves on providing efficient, highly personalized service at competitive rates. Our guides are all trained and licensed by the Department of Tourism and are experts in their given field, whether it is cultural tourism or adventure travel. We use only the best Hotels and Lodges in Bhutan and have a fleet of imported vehicles that we use for transportation. We have also been involved in making of several travel documentaries filmed on Bhutan in association with the BBC, Discovery Channel, ABC and PBS.
For further information, please contact us:
Chhundu Travel & Tours,
31 Norzin Lam
P.O. Box # 149,
Thimphu, Bhutan
Telephone numbers : + 975 2 322592 / 322547 / 328464 / 323586
Facsimile number : + 975 2 322645
E-mail: chhundu@druknet.bt
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