{"id":15168,"date":"2022-07-07T05:53:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T05:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/?p=15168"},"modified":"2022-07-07T12:32:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T06:32:37","slug":"famous-for-happiness-and-limits-on-tourism-bhutan-will-triple-fees-to-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/07\/famous-for-happiness-and-limits-on-tourism-bhutan-will-triple-fees-to-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous for Happiness, and Limits on Tourism, Bhutan Will Triple Fees to Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Venice and other European hot spots explore permit systems and daily fees to limit the number of tourists, the tiny Buddhist kingdom will require a $200 tax on international visitors when it reopens this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Buddha Dordenma statue overlooks Thimphu Valley in Bhutan. Credit…Gilles Sabri\u00e9 for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, often referred to as \u201cthe last Shangri-La\u201d for its abundance of natural beauty, sustainable development and rich cultural heritage, has long resisted the quick financial returns of mass tourism in favor of conservation. The approach is aligned with a cultural philosophy where the country\u2019s wealth and prosperity is measured, through a national happiness index<\/a>, as an alternative to the gross domestic product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1974, the year when foreigners were first permitted to visit Bhutan, the country has had a unique \u201chigh value, low volume\u201d tourism policy<\/a>, requiring international visitors to pay at least a daily rate of $250 that covered accommodations, meals, a mandatory tour guide and included a $65 \u201csustainable development fee\u201d to the government. The package-like approach was aimed to preserve the natural resources of the country by limiting the number of international visitors and controlling where they went. While some tourists complained of poor hotel plumbing, slow internet access and bland food, many appreciated the ease of the predetermined tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now as the government of Bhutan prepares to reopen its borders on Sept. 23, it has overhauled the tourism system and will significantly raise the cost to visit. Visitors no longer need to be on a package tour, but they will now have to pay a $200 daily fee directly to the government, and pay separately for their accommodation, meals, tours and other travel expenses. The new policy, officials say, will rebrand Bhutan as \u201can exclusive destination,\u201d attracting \u201cdiscerning tourists\u201d who will have access to a wider range of higher-quality services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCovid-19 has allowed us to reset, to rethink how the sector can be best structured and operated, so that it not only benefits Bhutan economically, but socially as well, while keeping carbon footprints low,\u201d said Dr. Tandi Dorji, Bhutan\u2019s foreign minister and chairman of the Tourism Council of Bhutan.<\/a> \u201cIn the long run, our goal is to create high-value experiences for visitors, and well-paying and professional jobs for our citizens. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many tour operators express anxiety over the change. They are worried that the new structure will leave them without any business \u2014 uncertain whether they will be able to attract a sufficient number of tourists with the higher fee, or if tourists will even require their services at all, now that they will have the option to book directly through hotels, tour guides and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust when we thought we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after two-and-a-half years of being out of business, the government\u2019s tourism amendment bill has thrown us back in the darkness and we have no idea how to go about it,\u201d said Pelden Dorji, the chief executive officer of the Bhutan Travel Club, <\/a>a company that specializes in adventure travel experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Dorji has already received cancellations from groups that had booked, but not paid for, packaged trips they had scheduled later in the year. He said the group members felt that they could not justify paying an additional $200 a day on top of the other expenses that had been agreed upon as part of the previous package deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n