During the Meet The Press session this afternoon, the prime minister said the Department of Tourism has been asked to draft the Standard Operating Procedure to implement the revised Sustainable Development Fees or SDF waiver for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions or MICE tourists. The government has agreed to implement the waiver in principle but is now awaiting the SOP for implementation.
The Department of Tourism announced an SDF waiver of up to four nights in January for MICE tourists. The government now wants to extend the waiver for up to seven days. Despite considering the revised waiver, the prime minister said an overhaul of policies mainly the SDF amount is not required for now.
However, he said the government has sped up the visa processing services now as one can obtain a visa immediately. Additionally, the government has decided to provide emergency visa services if required and the government is working on enhancing the payment gateway to facilitate smoother transactions for tourists. Moreover, the prime minister said the government will continue to emphasise marketing Bhutan to the global market.
“If there is no marketing, no matter how many changes you bring to the policies and system, tourists would not want to come. If foreigners are not aware of Bhutan and they do not know why they should visit our country, then how are we going to get tourists to come here? Therefore, we should focus mainly on marketing,” said the prime minister.
Further, the government plans to promote tourism in districts that are not popular tourist destinations through specialised marketing.
The prime minister said the cabinet has decided to implement the 24-hour SDF waiver for tourists staying in border towns until 2027.
Meanwhile, the prime minister emphasised the need to enhance the services provided to tourists.
“When tourists visit our country, what we mainly need to do is to enhance the services provided to them. Whether it be restaurants, hotels, the quality of roads, or roadside amenities such as toilets, among others, we have assigned responsibility to all the stakeholders concerned.”
The cabinet is reviewing the initial proposal regarding the construction of five airstrips in strategic locations across the country.
The prime minister said being a mountainous country, every proposed airstrip requires a significant amount of excavation and backfilling.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Kipchu
