Drop in tourist arrival in Bhutan after introduction of SDF

Only about 3,431 foreign tourists have arrived since September paying the SDF of $200 per night

NIRMALYA BANERJEE, EOI, KOLKATA, DECEMBER 24, 2022: Since the reopening of tourism in Bhutan on September 23, the Himalayan kingdom has experienced a drop in tourist arrival, thanks to the introduction of Sustainable Development Fee for Indian tourists and a steep hike in SDF for other categories of international tourists.

According to a report appearing in the online edition of Kuensel, the national newspaper of Bhutan, 16,520 tourists have arrived in Bhutan since the opening of the border. Tourism was suspended in Bhutan from March 2020 till September 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most tourists visiting Bhutan are from India, followed by the United States with 2,141 tourists since September 2022 and the United Kingdom with 635 tourists. In the previous years, the majority of the foreign tourists used to be from the United States and China. 

The average duration of stay for international tourists is 7.77 nights and for Indian tourists 4.89 nights. Around 137,000 visitors are expected to arrive in Bhutan in 2025, which is around only 44 percent of the total arrival of visitors in 2019. 

The spending rate of the tourists is estimated to rise, however, with SDF revenues reach pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of 2023.

The bulk of the tourists arriving to Bhutan were still from India. According to the report, of the total arrivals, 8,273 were Indian tourists; paying the SDF of Rs 1,200 per day. But only about 3,431 foreign tourists have arrived since September paying the SDF of $200 per night. About 4,816 tourists have arrived in this period, paying the old SDF of $65 per night.

They had booked their trips before the introduction of the new fee. Before the pandemic, in the months of January and February 2019 alone 15,000 tourists visited Bhutan. More than 30,000 tourists visited in the months of November and December. Earnings from tourism were also estimated to have gone down.