Thimphu relaxes restrictions of Indian tourists to Bhutan, allows stay in non-star hotels

NIRMALYA BANERJEE, EOI, KOLKATA, APRIL 6, 2023 : Thimphu has further relaxed the restrictions on the entry of tourists to the Himalayan kingdom that had been imposed during the reopening of tourism to Bhutan in September2022.

The online edition of Kuensel, the national newspaper of Bhutan, has said in a report that Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering announced during the weekend in a meeting at the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Thimphu that tourists could be allowed to stay in non-star hotels.

“Visitors have the right to decide where they can stay, ”the Prime Minister of Bhutan was quoted assaying. It may be mentioned that when Thimphu introduced its revised tourism policy during the reopening of tourism after the pandemic, it was mandated that even Indian and other regional tourists would be allowed to stay only in hotels of international standards; hotels of three-star categories and above. 

Together with the imposition of the Sustainable Development Fee even for Indian and other regional tourists at the rate of Rs 1,200 per person per night, this had limited Bhutan as a tourism destination only to the rich and the famous; making visits to Bhutan out of reach for middle-class Indian tourists who had hitherto provided the bulk.

The revised tourism policy introduced in September 2022made stakeholders in tourism, in particular owners of budget hotels and taxi operators whose fleet did not include luxury cars, deeply unhappy. In recent months, hotel rooms have remained empty and taxis sitting idle, according to reports from Bhutan. 

According to the Kuensel report, tourists can now stay in hotels in categories “Blue Poppy 1and 2” which used to cater to regional tourists before the pandemic. These hotels measure up to 1-star and 2-star level hotels in the international category. By this standard, out of about 638 non-star hotels in Bhutan nearly400 would cater to regional tourists.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Bhutan Government to waive the Sustainable Development Fee for overnight visitors to the border towns had brought relief to hoteliers in these towns. The Bhutan Cabinet announced on March 30 that tourists visiting the border towns of Gelephu, Phuentsholing, Samtse and Samdrupjongkhar for up to 24hours would not have to pay the SDF from April 14.

Kuensel online quoted hoteliers in Gelephu that it was a favourable decision since the hospitality industry was passing through trying times because of the slowing down in arrival of tourists to the Himalayan abode. 

Some of them said the duration of the waiver should be extended to three to five days. Hoteliers hoped with the withdrawal of the SDF for overnight visitors, the long queue sat the border gates would now shorten. Others wondered why Bhutan was doing the opposite when other countries were taking measures to attract tourists like offering free air tickets and accommodation.