The “Budget hotel” sector in the country is concerned with the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB)’s proposal to implement online permit system for regional tourists from January, next year.
They are of the opinion that such a system might discourage regional tourists to visit Bhutan since some of them might not be well qualified to process online entry permits. Anticipating such downside, over 200 hoteliers and restaurateurs have appealed to the government to reconsider the proposal.
The hotel operators felt the new regulations would take away their bread and butter. The new regulations were first drafted in May this year and is expected to be approved by the cabinet in coming days. Budget hotels are those hotels which are rated two stars and below.
“In Thimphu and Paro, there are about 100 budget hotels and overall 400-500 such hotels in the country. Each hotel has about 10-12 employees, so the new rule would affect their employment,” said one of the hoteliers in Thimphu, Sigay Dorji.
Other hoteliers also said implementation of online E-permit would affect their businesses which haven’t fared well in recent times.
“If the government comes up with such rule, it would be difficult for our business which has already gone down by 50 per cent. Before, all rooms were occupied around this time of the year. But now, it’s otherwise,” said Sonam Tshering, a hotel owner based in the capital.
At the moment, regional tourists can obtain entry permits from the Department of Immigration without requirement of passports. However, the online system would approve permits only to those passport holders rooted through travel agencies. Apart from this, the other new regulations include sustainable development fee of Nu 500 per tourist per day.
The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Bhutan said the new regulations could lead to over-regulation and have a huge impact on the hotel industry.
“So 150,000 tourists are coming to Bhutan, if suddenly some 50000 to 80000 don’t come, then who all are affected? So in a sense what they are saying is correct, this will totally make their businesses disappear,” said the association’s Chairperson, Thinley Palden Dorji.
Initially, the budget hotels were not allowed to cater to regional tourists. However, after requesting the government, TCB gave them a two-year time period to upgrade the hotels and then get certified.
While contacting Tourism Council to sought their views on the matter, they declined to comment. Since 2011, Bhutan has been welcoming swelling number of regional tourists from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Last year, over 100,000 regional tourists came to Bhutan.
