The tourism industry in Bhutan is relatively young having been initiated only in 1974 at the time of the coronation of the fourth King. The industry was privatised towards the end of 1991. The government took up the facilitating and regulatory role with the establishment of the Tourism Authority of Bhutan (TAB). In 2008, realizing the importance of a multi-sectoral approach towards tourism development, the Department of Tourism was granted autonomy under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister and renamed the Tourism Council of Bhutan.
