Initial Tourism Facility for Indians
Bhutan is a beautiful country which is safe for tourists to visit, making its way on the travelling list for almost everyone. Initially, certain countries like India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives were exempted from paying any kind of tourism charges which used to be levied on ex-pats travelling from other countries.So, all the tourists from other countries were paying a sum of approximately USD 250 travelling cost per day, which was given against a sustainable development fee accompanied by USD 40 as visa charges.
What Is the Shift In the Policy?
Indians will now be charged the Sustainable Development Fee along with the permit processing fee as mentioned above.
Reason Behind the Change?
As per the recent estimates of the number of tourists visiting Bhutan, it was observed that almost 274000 tourists visited the country out of which nearly 180000 tourists were only from India.Thus, the Bhutan Foreign Minister said that the charges were levied on Indian tourists to help in the sustainable development of Bhutan and curb low rent accommodation leading to many unregulated stays in Bhutan, along with increasing the subsequent revenue from tourism.
So, if you are heading out for a vacation to Bhutan, do consider these additional expenses before you plan out your next trip.