Bhutan expects close to 50% of pre-covid travel from India

Bhutan is targeting 3 lakh tourists globally. Of this, it is targeting 1.50 lakh (50 per cent) from India for 2024. Bhutanese Prime Minister has also assured government subsidy on airfares, and additional air connectivity to more cities from India. He has also said that the country will ease permit approvals. This is close to 50 per cent of pre-covid levels.

Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Bhutani PM, at the FICCI India-Bhutan Summit on Tourism, “In 2024, the total number of tourists we are targetting is 3 lakh. Of this, we are targetting 50 per cent from India.“

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In 2023, of the 3.04 lakh tourists that visited Bhutan, 72,659 were Indians. In 2019, 2.30 lakh were Indians of the 3.15 lakh.

The numbers, are yet to reach pre-covid levels because of the sustainable development fee (SDF) which is $15 per day i.e. ₹1,200 a day, for Indians, whereas other countries are required to pay $100 a day.

Some players said that this fee was a dampener for tourists hoping to visit the nation.

“We country is custodian of culture. 72 per cent of our country is under forest coverage which tourists love to see. The covid pandemic his us hard, and mainly hit our tourism. It is an important aspect of economic growth for us, and we are expecting better ties with India to boost tourism between the two countries.”

During the event, industry players pointed out that both countries have lesser air connectivity, and the airfares are high. One of the players also said that there was a lot of demand from Mumbai and Ahmedabad, On this, he said, “We will make sure that the government offers subsidy on airfares, and we will evaluate more connectivity to these destinations.”

Another point which was raised was that the permit process was were long. On this, the Bhutani PM said that the country will ease permit processes for Indians.

Another point mentioned was regarding Foreign Direct Investment in Bhutan by Indians. On this, he mentioned that the Lalit Group is scouting a property in Bhutan to develop a wellness resort.

Lastly, the industry demanded a common region package for India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, which the Bhutani PM agreed to.

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