Destination Bhutan: Friendship body calls for smooth passage for tourists from India

Amitava Banerjee, HT, 7 May 2016, DARJEELING:: Indo-Bhutan Friendship Association calls for online permits and new entry points. The Indo-Bhutan Friendship Association (IBFA) is striving hard to ensure a smooth passage for Indian tourists to the Himalayan kingdom. It has also appealed for online permits and new entry points for tourists travelling to Bhutan.

Indian tourists have off late faced difficulty in entering Bhutan owing to the withdrawal of the entry-counter at the Phuentsholing gate on the Indo-Bhutan border, coupled with serpentine queues at the immigration counter in Phuentsholing.

Visas are not required for Indians to visit Bhutan. Permits are issued to Indians based on citizenship documents (passports and voter ID cards). Per mits are issued from the immig ration of fice at Phuentsholing on the Bhutanese side on the Indo-Bhutan border.

With repeated appeals and follow-ups by the IBFA, a permit-counter had been opened at the Phuentsholing gate for Indian tourists. However, the onrush of tourists resulted in the withdrawal of the counter recently.

In a letter to the Bhutan consul general, IBFA has written that withdrawal of the permit counter from Phuentsholing has created a big problem for Indian citizens.

“Permit for the Indian labourers/workers and tourists are issued from the same complex. Presently, with the high-end Indian tourists flow increasing, special interest tourists like photographers are facing problems owing to the rush at the immigration office,” stated the letter requesting the issuance of online permits for Indian tourists.

“We have also requested Bhutan to consider opening up Samdrupdzonkhar and Gelephu as entry points for Indian tourists. These points are easily approachable from Guwahati airport along with Guwahati and New Bongaigaon railway stations in Assam. This will ease the tourist traffic flow from Phuentsholing,” said Raj Basu, secretary general, IBFA.

The Bhutanese airport at Paro is not well connected with most Indian cities. Tourists from all over India travel to Siliguri (via Bagdogra airport or New Jalpaiguri railway station) before proceeding to Bhutan.

Basu said the response from the consul general was very positive and he stated that he has said he will take up the matter immediately with the concerned authorities.

The consul general requested IBFA to organise awareness programmes on Bhutan in India starting with Kolkata.

“We will be organising a programme on ‘Happiness Bhutan’ and tourism policy of Bhutan in July-August in Kolkata. The programme will be followed by one at Phuentsholing. The programmes will be organised jointly with the consul general’s office, Tourism Council of Bhutan and West Bengal Tourism,” said Basu.

Incidentally, Bhutan stresses on quality tourists rather than quantity. In the year 2015, around 51,000 tourists had visited Bhutan.