Bhutan to open new entry points for Indian tourists

Amitava Banerjee, HT, 14 August, DARJEELING: The Land of the Thunder Dragon is all set to open the eastern and southern gates of the country for Indian tourists from October 2016.

At present, there is only a single entry point for tourists from India, which is Phuentsholing bordering Jaigoan in North Bengal. Along with the promotion of the virgin Eastern and Southern parts this will also allow Bhutan to adhere to the principles of “High Value and Low Volume” brand of tourism by easing the flow of Indian tourists through the lone entry point – Phuentsholing in North Bengal. This move is expected to emerge as a win-win situation as it provides the opportunity of promoting the Dooars in Bengal, the Dooars of Assam and Bhutan as a tourism circuit – the Golden Triangle.

India-Bhutan Friendship Association (IBFA) has been striving for long for new entry points to Bhutan for Indian tourists. A number of high-level meetings have already taken place in this regard between IBFA and Bhutanese authorities.

IBFA was established in 1995 to promote and foster friendship between India and Bhutan and also to create a strong platform for people-to-people contact. Its main objective is to create a viable, operative and effective platform for promotion of bilateral friendship between the two countries.

“Based on our proposal, the Government of Bhutan has agreed to allow Indian tourists through Gelephu near Bongaigaon and Samdrupdzonkhar near Guwahati, both in Assam in the eastern and southern part of Bhutan from October this year. Gelephu in Bhutan already has a domestic airport which has twicea-week connectivity with Paro, the air hub of Bhutan,” said Raj Basu, secretary general of IBFA.

The picturesque Bumthang and Ura Valleys are major tourist attractions in these parts of Bhutan. India shares almost 700 km of border with Bhutan which includes the Indian border states of Sikkim (32 km), Bengal (183 km), Assam (267 km) and Arunachal Pradesh (217 km).

“It is time the Dooars regions of Bengal, Dooars region of Assam and Bhutan be promoted as a Golden Triangle circuit. Manas World Heritage site in Assam which continues in Bhutan as Royal Manas National Park can play a major role,” feels Basu.

Ultapani in Western Manas Biosphere Reserve borders Sarpang in Bhutan. Bansbari in Central Manas borders the Bhutanese town of Panbang and Kokilabari in Eastern Manas borders Gnanglang in Bhutan. All these places are popular centres for Indian tourists and wildlife enthusiasts visiting Manas under Bodoland in Assam. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is listed as UNESCO Natural World Heritage site.

India has a strong connection with Bhutan.

It was in 1962, with full support of the Government of India, the road from Jainti and Rajabhatkhawa in North Bengal to Paro in Bhutan via Phuensholing opened up. In the year 2015, around 51,000 tourists visited Bhutan with majority being Indian tourists.