Bhutan treads ‘stay longer, save more’ path to woo tourists

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has interesting attributes such as the nation that has never come under foreign rule, the place where monarchy reigns, the patch of land inhabited by people brimming with joy and the only carbon-negative country in the world attached to it to the envy of other nations.

The Bhutan Government, which has a tight grip on the tourism sector and foreign relations, had imposed stringent rules on travellers following the outbreak of COVID-19. Now, Bhutan has relaxed restrictions to woo travellers from across the globe. The new policy is such that it would be cheaper for tourists who are spending more time in the Himalayan nation.

Bhutan has relaxed norms relating to the payment of Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), which was increased from 65 dollars to 200 dollars per day last September, for foreign tourists in a bid to attract more travellers to the country. And this relaxation in SDF will be place till the end of 2024.

The SDF will be waived for travellers who are staying in the nation for a longer period of time. The official website of Bhutan Tourism says that if tourists pay SDF for four days, the fee for the next four days will be waived off completely. The SDF was hiked after the borders were opened to foreign tourists last September after the Covid-19 pandemic subsided.

If tourists pay SDF for a week, they can stay in Bhutan for seven more days without paying the fee. And the payment of SDF for 12 weeks will result in complete fee waive off for the next 18days. The website also announces that the new scheme is on from June 1. The Immigration Department of Bhutan has also put in place ways and means to compute the money saved by tourists under different incentive programmes.