In February 2020, a Lower House of the Parliament in Bhutan announced that from July 2020, visitors from India, Bangladesh and Maldives have to pay a fee of Rs 1200 per day. The announcement was met with cynicism and anger by the border people and some sections of the media. This fee considered a ‘Sustainable Development Fee’ is to check the mass inflow of tourism from the region to preserve Bhutan’s rich ecology and culture. However, it couldn’t be implemented due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as Bhutan secured its gates to prevent the spread of the virus in the country. As the situation is gradually returning to normal, Bhutan opened its doors to tourists again on September 23 after a hiatus of two years. In this article, we briefly discuss the discontent emerging in the Indo-Bhutan border after the latter implemented the new tourism policy.
‘High Value, Low Impact’
Bhutan’s Tourism Policy stands for ‘High Value, Low Volume’ to promote the country as an “exclusive travel destination based on the values of Gross National Happiness (GNH)”. The Royal Government of Bhutan believes that while tourism provides opportunities to deepen friendly relationships and promote cultural exchange it should be based on the principle of sustainability. Meaning tourism that is socially and culturally acceptable, environmentally and ecologically just and economically feasible.
Bhutan’s Tourism Rules and Regulations – 2002 enumerates a plethora of guidelines that the tourists as well as those associated with the tourism industry in the country have to comply with. To uphold the country’s tourism policy, it levies a fee known as Sustainable Development Fee (SDF). The Tourism Council of Bhutan defines SDF as a “tourism fee levied on all tourists per person per night and…as a contribution towards sustainable development initiatives undertaken by the Royal Government to compensate for the negative environmental impacts associated with tourism”.
The SDF being applied to tourists from other countries will become dearer from $65 to $200 per day. From now on, tourists from India planning to visit the Himalayan Kingdom will have to pay Rs 1,200 per night for two years which will be reviewed thereafter. In the case of an extension of his/her stay in Bhutan, a tourist shall pay an SDF following the duration of his/her stay. The new tourism policy also states that if a tourist visits Bhutan during the day and plans to halt for the night within its border towns or beyond a designated point has to pay the SDF. Another, significant change made as per the new Tourism Rules and Regulations is that a visitor has to book his/her accommodation in a hotel with no less than 3 stars.
It is not clear whether the Government of India was consulted on this as there’s no official statement regarding the new travel policy and its implications to the Indians.
‘Social Media Wars’
Netizens inhabiting the Indo-Bhutan border engaged themselves over the new tourism policy of Bhutan with both sides vehemently trying to prove their points. A Facebook post by ‘Hello Bhutan’ on the issue garnered more than 300 comments and replies. Facebook users remonstrated that the SDF making it mandatory for Indians visiting Bhutan was unjustified and unfair. Most people feel that the fee being charged is expensive for ordinary Indian citizens and at this rate, they can comfortably visit Thailand or other tourist destinations within the country. While few others were calling for a reciprocal fee to be imposed on the Bhutanese travelling to India. A comment was also made on the Bhutanese vehicles plying on Indian roads defying traffic rules and emitting pollution.
Their counterparts from Bhutan tried to make people from India understand that the former is a tiny country with limited resources as compared to the latter. It is in the country’s best interests that the SDF has been put in place for those visiting the Himalayan nation. Further, a comment was made that Bhutan doesn’t have the capacity nor resources to accommodate if most Indians pour into the country, let alone, manage the waste generated.
On Twitter, Tenzing Lamsang, editor of ‘The Bhutanese Newspaper’, over a series of tweets provided a rationale behind imposing the SDF on the Indians. He argues that tour agencies in India had promoted Bhutan as a cheaper tourist destination than some of the popular tourist destinations within India like Goa, Manali, Darjeeling etc. The inflow of tourists en masse led to a rise in the construction of hotels, deteriorating traffic conditions, plastic waste all over including holy shrines and a shortage of drinking water, among others. He maintains that this is beyond Bhutan’s carrying capacity and doesn’t reflect what Bhutan stands for as a nation.
Largely, his post received constructive comments that it was wise and justified on the part of Bhutan to levy SDF to prevent further decay due to mindless tourism.
Discontent in Indo-Bhutan Border
We spoke to a few people over the phone living on the Indian side of the border to understand their thoughts about the new tourism policy of Bhutan. A family, comprising four members were planning to visit Bhutan but the recent change in tourism policy made them change their travel destination to Sikkim and Darjeeling. Ramesh Tamang, the head of the family, says that it’s too expensive for a middle-class family like theirs to spend a minimum of Rs. 20,000 per day inclusive of SDF, food, travel, guide and hotel charges.
Vijay Bhandari was excited to travel to Bhutan as the country is welcoming back tourists after two years due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. However, to his utter dismay he was told at the immigration office in Phuentsholing that he would need to pay the SDF and insurance costs of Rs. 1200 and Rs. 6000 respectively. Further, a tourist must take a room at a three-star hotel or above, which will cost around Rs. 3000-5000 per day and a tourist guide that will come around Rs. 500-700 per day. Besides that, with food and travel costs to be covered, he made up his mind that it is beyond his budget.
The change in tourism policy has affected both tourists as well as locals alike. While the local people were happy that the Bhutan gate is finally reopened after 30 months of restriction but observed a slew of regulatory changes as far as travel to Bhutan is concerned. They expressed displeasure as a movement to Bhutan became more of a hassle as one has to pass through too many documents verification and identification process which wasn’t the case before the lockdown. People complained about long queues and the whole verification process taking close to 2 hours which makes them feel harassed and agitated.
Another, regulatory change that might directly or indirectly affect local traders is the introduction of a daily purchasing limit. Now, a Bhutanese consumer cannot purchase or take goods from the Indian side of the border for more than Rs. 3000. If it crosses the limit, they have to pay additional charges to the Bhutan Government. Keeping this in view, the transactions have come down which is affecting the local vendors.
Earlier, the locals could travel to Phuentsholing, a border town, on payment of Rs. 500-800 to the Indian taxi drivers but with so many protocols to be followed and entry charges to be paid, a decline in interest is being seen. Further, it has been noticed that Indian taxi drivers are prevented from taking tourists as well as their family members to Bhutan’s border towns. Even to visit the border towns, a visitor has to hire a Bhutanese taxi that costs around Rs. 1500 which is double what was charged earlier. According to a Bhutanese respondent, visitors now have to pay site-specific fees which wasn’t the case earlier.
A disgruntled Indian taxi driver laments that “we want to earn to provide a living for our families and for that we depend on Bhutan’s tourism but putting such stringent rules and restrictions for the taxi drivers are impacting our livelihood. So the Government needs to understand our problems and reconsider.”
More people stand to be deprived with the implementation of the new tourism policy and not the Indians alone but the Bhutanese as well. A Bhutanese tourist agent, who doesn’t want to be named states that “So far many tourists have cancelled the tour due to this policy and I’m in a state of joblessness along with my staff. Moreover, a single-time SDF can be charged rather than imposed every day because it is reducing the number of tourists to Bhutan as well as impacting our economy.”
Another tourist agent who also runs several hotels, narrates the ordeal he is going through “a standard budget hotel below 3-star employ at least 8-10 workers. If the Government doesn’t allow us to accept bookings, then I’ll have to either shut my hotels down or raise the standard of my hotels to a 3-star level. But to do it requires a huge amount of money which we don’t have as the business was shut for 2 years due to Covid-19.”
Despite, the difficulties created on both sides of the border with the introduction of new travel policies in Bhutan, the love and affinity shared between both countries haven’t lost yet. It is in this regard, the locals earnestly hope that the Royal Government of Bhutan will reconsider the decision for the greater interest of the border people in particular and Indians, at large.
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