For over a month now, Tshewang Phuntsho and Karma Choeden from Bhutan have been working at the Stöfflhütte, a mountain hut that caters to tourists in the idyllic Kaisergebirge (“emperor’s mountain range“), in the Tyrolean Alps.

Previously, they both completed a German language course, designed by the non-profit association Bhutan Network (BN) based in Salzburg, Austria and facilitated by the Desuung Skilling Program (DSP) in Bhutan. For quite some time, Bhutanese tour guides have been expressing their interest and the need for professional German language courses to Ulli Čokl, the founder and program manager at BN, but none of the attempts to facilitate a course with Bhutanese tourism stakeholders materialized. Finally, with the initiative of the DSP, the German language dream came true for some of the tour guides.

Language Skills – A basic Requirement in Tourism

Before the pandemic hit the world, Tshewang Phuntsho and Karma Choeden worked as culture and trekking guides in Bhutan. They love their job, as it involves communicating with a variety of foreign guests with diverse interests. Both showed a great interest in the opportunity to learn languages. Especially German guests like to have guides who can speak their native language and the availability of a German speaking guide may impact their decision to book a tour to Bhutan.
Unfortunately, the language offers in Bhutan are limited and usually do not take the guides beyond the very basic levels. Furthermore, professional language teachers who are highly experienced are certainly not cheap but, like everywhere, good quality service comes with a price. The rest is all up to the learners and their commitment.

Tshewang and Karma, both Desuups, happily applied for the German language course offered by the DSP. It was an intense course over six months and also tailored to the special requirements of Bhutanese students, based on the long experience of the language instructor with Bhutanese culture and peculiarities.

With hard work and endurance, and the help of their language instructor, Tshewang and Karma successfully earned their A2 German language certificate at the Goethe Institute in Delhi. For the international certification exam, they left Bhutan for the first time and both of them were very excited. Official German language exams at certified test centers are not easy and many applicants they met had come for the third time!

However, completing a basic course is not sufficient for tour guides who aspire to more fluency in the language and visiting a native speaking country is a must. It is important to keep conversing in everyday situations and also learning the culture and traditions of German speaking countries.

“An exchange that benefits everyone”

Tshewang and Karma worked hard, and they hardly missed any classes. They performed at the top of their class and were deeply interested in improving their German skills further. As tour guides, they know that improving themselves will provide them more job opportunities and better income and they are willing to put in the hard work.

Luckily Peter Bichler, the mountain hut manager and proprietor of the Stöfflhütte in Tyrol, was on a mission in the kingdom to support a beer brewer with his start up. He knew Ulli, the language instructor who also hails from Tyrol, and she introduced Phuntsho and Karma to him. They realized that it would be beneficial to all of them if Tshewang and Karma worked at his mountain hut over the summer season. They could practice the language, learn the culture and earn some money whilst he would have the urgently needed work force during the highly busy summer months.

Thus, with support of the Bhutan Network and Peter Bichler, Karma and Tshewang are currently getting to know Alpine tourism in Tyrol and helping out Peter. Peter, like many mountain hut owners, has difficulties finding seasonal staff. The shortage of skilled labour is a substantial problem in the hospitality industry in Austria and many business owners are at a loss as to how to find hard working personnel. The job is not easy and the candidates need to be selected carefully. They have to work long hours and be able to handle a huge workload in a fast-paced environment with hundreds of mountaineers, mountain-bikers, hikers and nature lovers showing up at the Stöfflhütte daily.

Initially the Tyrolean colleagues were a bit worried about how the two Bhutanese, who had never been outside the little kingdom, would handle the cultural differences in Austria. However, their initial doubts faded quickly after the first couple of work days.

“Karma and Phuntsho are very hardworking and extremely nice. Both of them immediately fit into our team. Both sides really benefit from this exchange, They have been chosen by the Bhutan Network very well” is the feedback from Peter, the happy proprietor of the Stöfflhütte.

Skills Development and Language Training – Much needed Initiatives in Bhutan

Well-trained tourism professionals are very hard to find in Bhutan. Most lack the routine and experience one gains while working within the very high pressure and quality tourist environments in places such as Austria.

Currently, many young people from Bhutan are looking for greener pastures elsewhere. Australia is a popular destination. However, seasonal work in alpine tourism, combined with German language courses, can counteract this exodus at least partly. It benefits both sides: In Bhutan, German-speaking tour guides are in demand and well paid. In Austria, there is a need for seasonal labour in the tourism industry. However, this also requires the initiative of mountain hut owners like Peter Bichler, who himself spent a month in Bhutan and was immediately enthusiastic about the idea and who was reassured by the successful completion of level A2 German language.

Tyrolean Hospitality and Future Plans

Phuntsho and Karma feel very well received and are completely at ease at the Stöfflhütte. They do not feel homesick at all, because they say that their colleagues are very helpful and the people hospitable. “We are excited about the work ethics here, yes it is harder than in Bhutan, but we are learning a lot. We also want to learn German well because we have many German speaking guests in Bhutan” they both unanimously agree. They already have ideas and plans on how to implement what they have learned in Bhutan. For now however, their dream would be to complete a German B1 course in Austria before returning to Bhutan and resuming their work there.

Contributed by Ulrick Cokl