Mr. Sonam Dorji is the Executive Director of the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO), representing and protecting the collective interests of tour operators and the tourism industry in the country. In his capacity as the Executive Director of ABTO, Mr. Dorji has played key leadership roles in establishing Bhutan’s first community-based tourism project in Bhutan; operationalizing the country’s online tourist visa application system; and mobilizing critical resources (and the subsequent management of the funds) from the EU/ Austrian Development Cooperation/ The Asian Foundation for promoting Bhutan as a “Low Carbon” tourism destination.
He is the Immediate-Past Chairperson of the Civil Society Organizations Authority (CSOA) and Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM) of The Global Fund. He also currently serves as the Secretary General of the South Asia Tourism Federation; Chairperson of the Technical Advisory Committee; Member of the Tourism Disciplinary Committee and Vice Chair of the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee of Sector Associations.
He will be a speaker in this year’s festival and participate in the session “Reshaping Tourism in Bhutan post-CVOID.