The official theme for the event will be High Value Tourism – Low Impact Footprints. The gathering has the honor of being the first B2B travel trade event ever in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Bhutan is a land-locked state at the eastern end of the Himalayas, ranging from sub-tropical plains in the south to Himalayan peaks over 7,000 meters in the north. The country has a population of 700,000 and is bordered by India to the west, south, and east, and by China to the north.
“We are honored to host the PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart in Bhutan for the first time,” said Mr. Kesang Wangdi, Director General of the Tourism Council of Bhutan, “I am confident that such an international conference will help broaden the understanding of tourism and stress its positive impact on societies.”
At the event, international, regional, and local speakers will share experiences and provide insights into existing and future travel trends in the responsible and adventure tourism sectors. A buyer-seller mart component will target a limited number of relevant high-quality buyers primarily from Japan, Chinese Taipei, Western Europe, Australia, USA, Canada, and the Asian cities of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
Bhutan’s successful and highly-acclaimed tourism policy is, “High Value – Low Impact.” It is not interested in mass tourism.