Withdrawal of SDF in Bhutan on the cards as tourist footfall declines

RAJESH SHARMA, EOI, JAIGAON, APRIL 24, 2023 : In view of the rapid decline in the number of tourist arrivals in Bhutan due to the imposition of a Sustainable Development Fee of Rs 1,200 per person per night for Indian tourists and steep increase in the SDF for international tourists form $65 to $200, the Bhutan government is learnt to be planning to waive all these taxes.

As a first step, the SDF has already been waived for tourists staying one night in the border towns of Phuentsholing, Gelephu, Samdrupjongkhar and Samtse. The 24-hour exemption in the border towns is meant to help the struggling economy of these towns where the hotels do not have enough guests to accommodate.

According to information given by sources in the Tourism Department of Bhutan, from September 23, 2022,when tourism was reopened in Bhutan after the suspension due to the pandemic, to March 22, 2023, a total of 10,120 tourists arrived in Bhutan. 

Of them Indian tourists paying SDF of Rs 1,200 were 7,068, international tourists who had booked their trips earlier and paid an SDF of $65 were 1,002 in number and tourists paying $200as SDF were 2,050 in number. In 2023, a total of 31,017 tourists were expected to arrive in Bhutan. Of them,18,221 would be from India, paying an SDF of Rs 1,200, a total of 7,070 international tourists paying the old SDF of$65, and 5,726 would be tourists paying the new SDF of $200. 

Due to the drop in the arrival of tourists, the Himalayan kingdom was faced with an economic crisis, it is learnt. Indian tourists now have to pay a separate guide charge of Rs 1,500 a day. 

Due to the drop in the number of tourists, however, many of the guides have been rendered unemployed and can be seen standing outside shops of agents in the border towns. 

Because of restrictions imposed on the entry of Indian vehicles to Bhutan and the charge of Rs 4,500 a day, vehicle owners in Bhutan now have to send their vehicles to the border towns to collect visitors to Bhutan.