Trashiyangtse villages prepare for homestay

Trashiyangtse: As the government plans to bring in 100,000 tourists in a year, the remote Trashiyangtse Dzongkhag is already sprucing itself up for ecotourism.

Several village houses are being furnished for homestay. Homestay is a form of tourism where tourists rent a house from a local family particularly to understand their culture and lifestyle.

Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) has identified farm houses in Baychen and Rinchengang villages under Yangtse Gewog and some houses in Bumdeling Gewog for homestay.

Trashiyangtse Dzongda Sangay Duba said the farm houses are being improved to fulfill the recommendations of TCB.

TCB’s recommendations include attached toilets, room partitions and better internal structures.

The assistant dzongkhag forest officer,

Tashi Gyalpo, said while some villagers in Bumdeling have already started improvement works, others are yet to begin. Some villagers have completed about 70 percent of the work, he said.

Once the homes are complete, the dzongkhag will advertise their availability with TCB and Association of Bhutan Tour Operators to send their guests.

“If homestay does well as expected, it will be a good source of income for the humble villagers,” said Yangtse Gup Karma Wangchuk, adding that until now the benefits of tourism has not trickled down to the grassroots.

“If the government opens more of such avenues for the farmers, the benefits of high-end tourism policy for the poor would be high,” he said. He added that it will also create jobs for rural youth who always tend to go to towns in search of jobs.

However, some villagers share reservations about the government’s tourist arrival target. They say they doubt if the expected number of tourists would actually visit Bhutan.

The thromde thuemi of Trashiyangtse town, Karma Kelzang, said it would be a big blow to the villagers if the tourist arrival falls short of the expectation after investing in homestay. For the farmers, improving their homes for tourists entails considerable investment.

Karma Kelzang said some villagers have, therefore, stalled home improvement works. He also said that TCB has not kept its earlier promise of helping the villagers get loans from the banks for developing their houses.

Meanwhile, TCB is planning to build a big resort in the heart of Trashiyangtse town.

By Tempa Wangdi