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☆ Bhutan's new 'Mindfulness City' is massive — with plans showing a city unlike any other in the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The kingdom of Bhutan is planning a "mindfulness city" that, if built, will cover some 2.5% of the country — an area larger than Singapore. Plans show the 1,000-square-kilometer city will be built near the town of Gelephu, along Bhutan's southern border with India. "Gelephu Mindfulness City," as it's called in the project's masterplan, will serve as an economic hub and gateway for tourists to the rest of the country, according to a press release published in late January. However, most other international visitors fly into Paro International Airport, near Bhutan's largest city and capital, Thimphu, which is some 26 square kilometers in size. Like Saudi Arabia's planned linear city, called The Line, Gelephu Mindfulness City rethinks how modern cities look, function and serve the needs of residents.

Persons: Bhutan's, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Organizations: Paro International, Saudi Locations: Bhutan, Singapore, Gelephu, India, Paro, Bhutan's, Thimphu

☆ The top 9 'must-have' travel experiences of 2024, according to luxury advisors
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Jonathan Delise | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

If that sounds like a tall order for a summer getaway, the luxury travel company Virtuoso asked 20,000 of its travel advisors to share their top experiences for 2024. Dark sky tourism focuses on rural locations without light pollution, such as Greece's Olympus Mountain National Park. Departing in August, Virtuoso recommends travelers first take in the Olympic Games before departing the city in style. Passion travelsHobbies may be associated with the home, but Virtuoso recommends taking your passions on the road. Virtuoso recommends exploring Peruvian cuisine at the Mistura Food Festival, or checking out the street food of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Persons: Nicolas Economou, Manoj Shah, Belles, Bhutan's, Young, Peter Adams, Chiang Mai, Koh, Wiphop, Sakura, James Cole, Hillary, Cousteau, Shackleton, pricey, Yasin Akgul, bookworms, Wolfgang Kaehler, Brian Curtice, Levente Bodo, ERNESTO BENAVIDES Organizations: Nurphoto, DarkSky, Stone, InterContinental, UNESCO, Istock, Expedition, Getty, CNBC Travel, Orient, Afp, Departing, Olympic Games, Chelsea Flower, Lightrocket, Festival Locations: stargazing, Norway, Iceland, Canada, Northern Mexico, Blanco , Texas, Albanya, Spain, Africa, Bhutan, Thailand, Pana, Yai, Bangkok, Japan Japan, United States, North America, Japan, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Fuji's, Antarctica, Paris, Istanbul, Turkey, Asia, Europe, Venice, Turkish, Strahov, Riau, Isla, Ljubljana, Slovenia

☆ New party to face old guard in Bhutan's fourth free vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) received the highest number of votes in the preliminary round of the election held on Thursday, followed by the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP), the ECB said. Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT), the party headed by outgoing Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, finished fourth, the ECB vote counts showed. PDP, headed by former Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, is a liberal group founded in 2007, which had formed the government in Bhutan between 2013 and 2018. They also share similar views on several other issues such as the development of hydroelectric power, agricultural growth, and unemployment. Majority-Buddhist Bhutan, which is roughly the size of Switzerland, has deep economic and trade relations with its southern neighbour, India, which is its biggest donor.

Persons: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Jetsun Pema, Britain's King Charles, Henry Nicholls, Nyamrup, Lotay Tshering, Tshering Tobgay, Pema Chewang, Gopal Sharma, Alex Richardson Organizations: Buckingham, REUTERS, Bhutan, Democratic Party, Bhutan Tendrel Party, ECB, Buddhist, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, China, India, Bhutan, Buddhist Bhutan, Switzerland

☆ Remote mountain Kingdom of Bhutan is operating secret, state-owned Bitcoin mining facilities, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Forbes said it had identified the sites of four secret, state-owned Bitcoin mining facilities in Bhutan. El Salvador is the only other country known to operate state-owned Bitcoin mining facilities. AdvertisementThe Kingdom of Bhutan has secretly developed a series of bitcoin mining facilities, a Forbes investigation has revealed. Other images also show high-capacity power lines and transformers running from Bhutan's hydroelectric plants to the mining sites, Forbes reported. The Dochula Pass is a Bhutanese mountain pass located on the road from Thimphu to Punakha, near where one of the mining facilities has been discovered.

Persons: Forbes, —, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Organizations: Service, Forbes, Labs, Google, Education, VW Locations: Bhutan, El Salvador, Dochula, Trongsa, Thimphu, Punakha, India, Salvador

☆ 'They just come, take a nice selfie ... and leave.' Overtourism returns, but cities are fighting back
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Many cities have come full circle to worrying about too many tourists rather than too few. "They just come, take a nice selfie, publish them on social media, increase the popularity of this place … and leave," she said. And an additional 50 million international tourist arrivals are expected per year — mostly from Asia — between now and 2030, according to the U.N.'s World Tourism Organization. James Matsumoto| Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesSome travelers supported Bhutan's $200 per day Sustainable Development Fee, which was announced in 2022. Managing 'tourist flow'The United Nations World Tourism Organization secretary-general, Zurab Pololikashvili, told CNBC Travel that the key to overcoming overtourism lies in "tourist flow."

Persons: Lionel Saul, Tatyana Tsukanova, What's, Tsukanova, Reinhard Hormandinger, Saul, Jesus Merida, It's, Luca Zanon, Ivan Saprov, Saprov, Miyajima, James Matsumoto, Zurab Pololikashvili, overtourism, Jon Hicks, —, Darrell Wade, Reinhard Hoermandinger Organizations: Hospitality Business, United Nations, Asia —, Tourism Organization, South, Afp, Getty, Guardian, daytrippers, CNBC, United Nations World Tourism Organization, CNBC Travel, Stone, Japan Times, Intrepid Travel Locations: Lausanne, Switzerland, Asia, South Korean, Machu Picchu, Peru, Acropolis, Athens, Borobudur, Indonesia, Sardinia, Venice, Bora Bora, Amsterdam, Spanish, Malaga, Spain, France, trialing, daytrippers . New, Valencia, Manchester, England, Thailand, Iceland, U.S, Bali, Germany, Yogyakarta, Labuan Bajo, Lake Toba, Austria

Most of the recent arrivals have settled in Perth, Western Australia, where they have enrolled in courses such as childcare, hospitality and accounting. Tashi Kipchu, a 25-year-old education consultant, is one of many who came to Australia last year in search of better opportunities. People don't see an opportunity out there," said Kipchu, who studied marketing at the University of Western Australia. That accelerated after the reopening of borders in Australia in 2022, with official data showing student visa applications from Bhutan jumping fivefold in the fiscal year ended June. At Kingston International College, a vocational education provider in Western Australia, about 150 Bhutanese students receive training, said managing director Tandin Dorji, himself a Bhutanese migrant.

Persons: Cathal McNaughton SYDNEY, Tashi Kipchu, Kipchu, Phil Honeywood, Sonam Tobgay, Tandin Dorji, Dorji, Stella Qiu, Gopal Sharma, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, University of Western, International Education Association of Australia, Bhutan's, Kingston International College, Thomson Locations: Thimphu, Bhutan, KATHMANDU, Australia, Perth, Western Australia, University of Western Australia, South Asia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutanese, Sydney, Kathmandu

☆ It’s now cheaper for travelers to go to Bhutan — if they stay long enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Travelers can avoid paying some of Bhutan's daily tourism fees, as long as they stay at least five nights. Travelers who pay the SDF for the first four days can stay an additional four days without paying the fee, according to an announcement on Bhutan's Department of Tourism website. Bhutan's Department of Immigration created a website where travelers can calculate potential savings under the different incentive programs. Government officials are quick to point out that Bhutan's SDF has not changed however, and remains $200 per traveler per night. A controversial feeSpending at least $200 a day isn't new to travelers to Bhutan.

Organizations: Travelers, Bhutan's Department of Tourism, Bhutan's Department of Immigration Locations: Bhutan

Private-sector efforts also have sprung up offering credits for "voluntary" carbon markets, while a range of registries such as Verra and Gold Standard is accrediting and tracking them. The new database - called the Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust) - aims to address these issues by collating all the project and carbon credit data in one place and making it free to the public. It brings us up to speed with what is required within the carbon markets," he said. He said Bhutan is in discussions with possible buyers who want details about how carbon credits from its forests are being registered, verified and monitored. "The CAD Trust meets all the technical requirements of host countries and buyers."

☆ You can visit Bhutan again — if you're willing to cough up $200 a day in fees
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Monica Buchanan Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Andrew Stranovsky Photography | Moment | Getty ImagesSam Blyth, chair of The Bhutan Canada Foundation and founder of the Trans Bhutan Trail, said the fees will go directly to help local communities. Travelers, too, will benefit from the increased fees, according to the Tourism Council. However, the Tourism Council of Bhutan said the pandemic provided the right time "to reset the sector." He is the founder of the Trans Bhutan Trail, a not-for-profit company that helped revitalize a 250-mile ancient trail that traverses the center of the country. Sam Blyth, Trans Bhutan Trail, visiting Bhutan, trekking Bhutan

☆ What to know about Bhutan's new sustainability fee
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Monica Buchanan Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhat to know about Bhutan's new sustainability feeCNBC's Sri Jegarajah and Monica Pitrelli speak to Randy Durband, CEO of the UN-created NGO Global Sustainable Tourism Council, about Bhutan's increased "Sustainable Development Fee."

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