As a collaborative effort between the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) and Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB), a 3-month beginner level conversational French language course was organized from May 31st 2021. A total of 24 tour guide attended the course with funding support from TCB and RUB. During the opening session of the training course the Director General, TCB said that the tour guides are important players in the Tourism sector and it is of utmost importance to have the best tour guides. He urged the participants not only to focus on learning the language but to go beyond and extend into learning culture and history too. He stated that the tourism policy of ‘High Value, Low Volume’ doesn’t only refer to the monetary value but also to provide the highest quality of services and experiences to the visitors of the country.

The RUB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French Institute in India in 2019 for educational and cultural exchange. The French Language Courses was one of the areas of cooperation under the MoU. The French Language Course is offered at different levels from beginners through to advanced. So far, the participants of the courses were high school students, entrepreneurs, tour guides and few professional from UN and the Civil Service.

The course ended with a modest closing session on 19th August 2021. The Country Director and Officials from the French Institute of India also attended the closing and certificate awarding session online.

To further upgrade the competency of the participants in the French language, TCB will provide funding support for the intermediate level course for 22 tour guides. The course will begin from 1st September 2021 for a period of 3 months.