Every tourist visiting Bhutan will be required to pay a uniform daily package rate within the next five years, regardless of nationality. The Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) plans to fast track this measure to achieve the High Value Low Volume policy. As per the policy statement, the government will be working towards a single tourism system by 2030.
The TCB intends to achieve this through the Tourism Policy of Bhutan which was approved by the Cabinet recently. The Tourism Policy of Bhutan 2021 is the first documented tourism policy for Bhutan. It will be guided by the existing policy of High-Value Low Volume to ensure sustainable tourism.
According to the TCB, currently, the tourism industry in Bhutan is not able to live up to the vision of High Value Low Volume policy mainly because tourists are categorised into two standards- international and regional tourists. Regional tourists are those from Bangladesh, India and the Maldives. Visitors from the rest of the world are international tourists.
While the international tourists pay a minimum daily package rate ranging from 200 to 250 US dollars, regional tourists are exempted from paying this rate. They pay a sustainable development fee of Nu 1,200 daily. As a result, more regional tourists visited Bhutan in the past years. According to the TCB, of the 315,000 visitors in 2019, regional tourists constituted close to 78 per cent.
“Why we are doing this is because as of now it appears as if we are discriminating because those tourists who are paying 200 to 250 MDPR seem to be getting VIP treatment. They have a dedicated guide, they have an SUV, three-star rated accommodation. So everything is taken care in a VIP style whereas our tourists from the regional countries do not get this type of treatment because they are not paying such tariff. They are almost like on their own. And we feel very bad. As a GNH country, we have to treat everyone the same. To give the same treatment we will also like them to pay the same tariff,” said Dorji Dhradhul, the Director-General of the TCB.
Besides, the policy also intends to address other issues such as congestion at tourist sites, increased vehicle movement and safety of unguided tourists and growing waste and environment problems resulting from an unmanageable number of tourists.
Through the Tourism Policy, the TCB plans to diversify tourism products beyond culture and trekking tours and make Bhutan a year-round travel destination. Currently, tourism in Bhutan is seasonal. Tourist visits peak during the months of April, May and October and drops to around four per cent of the total arrivals during February and July.
Phub Gyem
