Coinciding with the birthday of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, the government launched the subsidised airfare for international tourists in the capital. The subsidy will be applicable for dollar-paying tourists visiting the country in June, July and August in Summer and December, January and February in Winter. Tourists will get a 25 per cent subsidy on airfares on average. The initiative aligns with the government’s target to boost tourist arrivals to an average of 300,000 each year.
At the launch, Finance Minister Lekey Dorji said though the tourist arrival record shows steady improvement after the pandemic, the growth is still low.
As of now airfares are available in three categories such as for local travellers, for SAARC tourists, and for international tourists.
The subsidy aims to bring down the airfare of international tourists to the rate of SAARC tourists. The government hopes that the initiative will help revive the tourism industry.
The subsidy will be paid to the Drukair and Bhutan Airlines on a per-ticket basis, monthly, from the government’s internal revenue.
Airlines and tour operators shared that this initiative would help in bringing more tourists to the country.
“We have tourists arriving mostly during the spring and autumn seasons and during summer and winter we hardly see tourists coming. Facing difficulties during the lean seasons, the government has provided the subsidy which will help improve the perception that Bhutan is an all-season destination, not only for the autumn and spring seasons,” said Tandin Wangchuk, CEO of Drukair.
“We think that it is because of expensive airfare that the international tourists are facing difficulties in visiting our country. Now that the government has reduced the airfare, we hope the tour operators can bring more tourists,” said Duptho, Board Director of Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators.
In the first three quarters of this year, the country received over 95,600 tourists of which 31,000 are international tourists.
The subsidy will be implemented for one year starting next month.
Sangay Chozom
Edited by Kipchu
