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Case Study 13: Wellbeing Through Travel: High Value-Low Impact Tourism in the Developing Country, Bhutan
Abstract
Increasingly services marketing research is calling for a focus on improved wellbeing through the delivery of services (Anderson et al. 2013). This includes a focus on the service innovation at the base of the pyramid (i.e. The world’s poorest), being sustainable in service delivery and improving societal wellbeing (Ostrom et al. 2015). Bhutan, a small landlocked developing nation in the Himalaya Mountains borders China and India (Nyaupane and Timothy 2010). Bhutan has always been of interest to tourists, due to the spiritual, adventure and cultural aspects. In 2012, 105,407 tourists visited Bhutan. This represented a 64.62 % increase in visitors from the previous years (Tourism Council of Bhutan 2013). Such a rapid growth in tourists indicates an increased focus on tourism services within the region and may also suggest increased promotion and word of mouth.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is an isolated country that prides itself on culture, heritage, religion, the natural environment and the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) among others. GNH was introduced to the teaching curriculum in the year 2000 to increase the happiness and satisfaction of the people, rather than just focusing on monetary value or gain. Tourism plays an important role in being one of the main contributors to Bhutan’s gross domestic product (GDP) by utilising a unique visa tariff system in which international tourists pay a minimum of US$250 per day. In the past, exit studies conducted at the airport have highlighted the dissatisfaction of many tourists who were paying a high daily tariff and not receiving the perceived quality products or services anticipated by international travellers from developed societies. The government responded in 2004 by creating the Royal Institute for Tourism and Hospitality (RITH) and offering a Diploma in Hotel Management or Tourism Management and a Middle Management Programme to educate Bhutanese tourism and hospitality employees to meet western expectations and standards. Tourism education is currently delivered in Bhutan, rather than sending Bhutanese nationals to foreign countries for training. This chapter focuses on discussing the creation of RITH and highlights the future direction of tourism and hospitality education in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
This article conceptualizes and presents a research agenda for the emerging area of transformative service research, which lies at the intersection of service research and transformative consumer research and focuses on well-being outcomes related to service and services. A conceptual framework provides a big-picture view of how the interaction between service entities (e.g., individual service employees, service processes or offerings, organizations) and consumer entities (e.g., individuals, collectives such as families or communities, the ecosystem) influences the well-being outcomes of both. Research questions derived from the framework in the context of financial services, health care, and social services help catalyze new research in the transformative service research domain.
Ecotourism can be an incentive for conservation, especially when it triggers positive economic change. Yet it introduces many changes to communities:positive and negative, social and economic. The full range of change is seldom evaluated in direct relation to conservation at the local level. In this study of three Amazon ecotourism projects, local leaders discussed changes from ecotourism in their communities. Economic benefits were mentioned, but so were new restrictions on time, decreased reciprocity, and social conflict. Other changes included heightened self-esteem and greater community organization. Such shifts should be considered in relation to conservation as they affect the stability of local institutions and the prospects for long-term collective action for resource management.RésuméOpinions communautaires sur l’écotourisme. L’écotourisme peut motiver la conservation, surtout quand il déclenche des changements économiques positifs. Pourtant, les nombreux changements peuvent être positifs et négatifs, sociaux et économiques. La totalité de ces changements est rarement évaluée en relation directe à la conservation locale. Dans cette étude de trois projets écotouristiques en Amazonie, les leaders de la population locale ont mentionné les bénéfices économiques mais aussi les nouvelles restrictions sur le temps, la réciprocité diminuée et le conflit social. D’autres changements comprenaient un respect de soi accru et une meilleure organisation communautaire. On devrait considérer de tels retournements en relation à la conservation et leur effet sur la stabilité des institutions locales ainsi que les perspectives pour l’action collective pour la gestion des ressources à longue terme.
Over the last few decades, Bhutan has followed a controlled tourism policy, with a ‘high value, low volume’ strategy. This approach is based on the country's sustainable development policy. In recent years, tourism has been identified as the backbone of private sector growth. To this end, a ‘high value, low impact’ strategy was adopted, which would allow for a doubling of the number of tourists in the next decade. Growing numbers of visitors could jeopardize the intended low impact on both nature and culture, which are the selling points of Bhutanese tourism. In this article, we examine the contribution of tourism to the sustainable development of Bhutan, focusing on the socio-economic, environmental and cultural impacts of present-day tourism. Information was gathered by conducting field surveys in the tourist sector and in rural communities, and by analysing financial data relating to tourism. The results indicate that tourism has the potential to stimulate private sector growth by producing spin-off effects in the related service sector and to transform the rural economy. The impact on culture and the environment is currently low. However, the expected growth may, if it is not managed properly, erode the unique nature of tourism in Bhutan.
The underlying development philosophy of globalisation seeks to maximise happiness through the cultivation of a narrow materialist self-interest and competitiveness, both at the level of the individual and at the level of the nation-state. Despite voluminous evidence that this growth-fixated model of material economy polarises global well-being and seriously undermines environmental security, most, in the developed world at least, seem perfectly content to continue achieving happiness in irresponsible ways. This paper explores the deeper dynamics of an economic ideology of which GNP is only the most visible aspect and asks whether Bhutan’s search for an alternative approach really entails the search for a more responsible form of happiness – one that inherently involves a more compassionate mode of being in the world. Using the Four Pillars of Gross National Happinessas a framework, it argues that the cultivation of a deeper happiness lies in ensuring that the inter-dependent realms of culture, good governance, economy and the environment remain in sustainable balance. If Buddhist understandings are accurate, then on-going happiness can only be truly found through this critical balancing. Thus, if a means for measuring the vitality of these four components can be developed then Bhutan can build a strong foundation for genuinely advancing beyond the irresponsible and unsustainable means employed by others in their search for a more fleeting form of satisfaction.
The context in which service is delivered and experienced has, in many respects, fundamentally changed. For instance, advances in technology, especially information technology, are leading to a proliferation of revolutionary services and changing how customers serve themselves before, during, and after purchase. To understand this changing landscape, the authors engaged in an international and interdisciplinary research effort to identify research priorities that have the potential to advance the service field and benefit customers, organizations, and society. The priority-setting process was informed by roundtable discussions with researchers affiliated with service research centers and networks located around the world and resulted in the following 12 service research priorities:
This paper uses power relationship frameworks and regionalism concepts to understand two political aspects of Bhutan’s low-volume, high-yield tourism policy. The number of tourists to Bhutan has been controlled not by an annual visa quota, but by a daily minimum tariff, a required guided tour, certain spatial restrictions, and the general perception of inconvenience associated with the process of getting a visa. The controlled tourism policy, however, is limited only to western tourists, who represent only a quarter of arrivals. Although Bhutan has been able to minimize the environmental and cultural impacts of western tourists through its low-volume, high-yield tourism policy, this is more related to power and regional politics than simply a quest for sustainable tourism.
The growth and development of health and wellness tourism based on hot springs
The demand for 'authentic' cultural and nature-based tourism experiences affects all cultures, including the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Bhutan's dilemma is repre-sented in its desire to share in global economic development while still retaining its traditional cultural identity. In this paper we examine the relationship between tourism, development, Bhutanese culture and environment. Narratives of cultural identity are considered in an analysis of primary and secondary data – participant observation, interviews, plus electronic and printed texts – to demonstrate that: key stakeholders in Bhutan favour a policy of cautious or 'middle path' modernisation in which the Bhutanese maintain control of the type and amount of tourism and its effect on cultural traditions, religion, and the natural environment. Bhutan's tourism's policy has been effective to date in limiting environmental and cultural impact from Western tourism. But as tourism demand is rapidly growing, an assessment of the country's carrying capacity is necessaryif Bhutan's 'middle path' policy of high yield, low impact tourism is to continue to be effective. The special political agreement between India and Bhutan, which amongst other things allows unlimited numbers of Indian tourists to enter Bhutan, will pose a major challenge in achieving an effective cultural and envi-ronmental carrying capacity.
This paper analyzes the present state of tourism in Bhutan and considers the prospects for the development of ecotourism. Empirical surveys of tour operators and foreign tourists indicate that visitors interested in the natural beauty of the Himalayan kingdom stay longer than those who come to experience its culture. By attracting younger tourists, ecotourism could contribute to the goals of Gross National Happiness. The majority of tourists and tour operators are in favor of ecotourism activities that might benefit local rural communities. The prerequisite for a substantial promotion of ecotourism would be changes in the Bhutanese tourism policy to encourage the diversification of tourism products.RésuméL’écotourisme au Bhoutan, une extension de ses bénéfices aux communautés rurales. La situation actuelle du tourisme ainsi que les perspectives de développement de l’écotourisme au Bhoutan font l’objet de cette étude. Il ressort d’enquêtes menées de manière empirique auprès d’opérateurs touristiques et de touristes étrangers que les visiteurs intéressés par les beautés naturelles de ce royaume de l’Himalaya y séjournent plus longtemps que ceux qu’attire la culture. En suscitant l’intérêt de touristes jeunes, l’écotourisme pourrait contribuer à atteindre les objectifs du Bonheur Intérieur Brut. La majeure partie des touristes et des opérateurs touristiques se déclarent en faveur d’activités écotouristiques bénéficiant aux communautés rurales locales. Pour assurer une promotion conséquente de l’écotourisme, des changements visant à la diversification des produits devront être apportés à la politique touristique du pays.
Bhutan's tourism industry began in 1974. It was introduced with theprimary objective of generating revenue, especially foreign exchange;publicising the country's unique culture and traditions to the outside world, and to contribute to the country's socio-economic development1. Since then the number of tourists visiting Bhutan has increased from just 287 in 1974 to over 2,850 in 1992 and over 7,000 in 1999.By the late 1980's tourism contributed over US1.95 million through tourism. By 1992 tourist revenues contributed as much as US$3.3 million and accounted for as much as 15-20% of the total of Bhutan's exported goods and services.The royal government has always been aware that an unrestricted flow of tourists can have negative impacts on Bhutan's pristine environment and its rich and unique culture. The government, therefore, adopted a policy of "high value-low volume" tourism, controlling the type and quantity of tourism right from the start. Until 1991 the Bhutan Tourism Corporation (BTC), a quasi-autonomous and self-financing body, implemented the government's tourism policy. All tourists, up to that time came as guests of BTC, which in turn operated the tour organisation, transport services and nearly all the hotels and accommodation facilities. The government privatised tourism in October 1991 to encourage increased private sector participation in the tourism sector. Today there are more than 75 licensed tour operators in the country.
Ecotourism in Bhutan, extending its benefits to rural communities
- D Gurung
- K Seeland