Skift Take
Bhutan’s high tourist fee was one key reason the country managed to avoid the pitfalls of mass tourism until recently. It’s high time that the sustainable tourism development fee is uniformly levied for all tourists, regardless of their origins.
The tiny kingdom of Bhutan, tucked between India and China, has soared in popularity among tourists from India. A proposed move by the Bhutanese government to remove free entry for regional visitors, however, could stem the tide of mass tourism that has found its way into the Buddhist nation in recent years.
The Lower House of Bhutan Parliament earlier this month passed a draft tourism bill to charge a sustainable tourism fee on regional tourists from July, meaning that visitors from India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives may soon have to pay 1,200 rupees ($16.70) per person, per day, to visit Bhutan.
This fee is seen as an attempt by the Bhutanese government to preserve the country’s ecology as well as its "high-value, low-impact" tourism strategy, after the exclusive, high-end destination image of the tiny Himalayan nation has become tainted by the brush of mass tourism in recent years.
As visas are not required for Indian citizens to enter Bhutan, the landlocked country has especially attracted many budget travelers from its 600-million-strong neighbor to the south, many of whom are drawn by the proximity and the abundance of cheap accommodation that has sprung up to cope with the visitor surge.
According to the Tourism Council of Bhutan, the country recorded over 274,09
