Bhutan is a real beauty. It is well-known for its mesmerizing beauty and stunning landscapes. This place has been an idyllic destination for Indian travellers. Most importantly, you were not charged any fee to enter the city but there’s bad news for all the travel lovers. If you are an Indian tourist and were planning to visit Bhutan for a long time then you may need to drop or postpone your plans as now you will be charged Rs. 1,200 per day.
If you want to avoid paying Rs. 1,200, then you may need to visit there before July.
Why this fees?
Bhutanese Government has launched a new scheme, under that they will be charging this amount as Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) from all the Indian tourists. They have decided to end the provision of free entry and have set the fee to enter Bhutan. This applies to all Indian Passport holders from July 2020. Other countries that are included in the scheme are Maldives and Bangladesh.
Who are exempted from this fee?
This fee does not apply to children between the age of 6 and 12 years.
Do you know how much now Indian tourists will have to pay?
The SDF for Indian tourists is quite less compared to the citizen of other countries who need to pay USD 65 i.e. Rs. 4,631 along with a compulsory flat cover charge of USD 250 i.e. Rs. 17,811 per day. The decision to introduce such a fee was passed by the country’s National Assembly as the Tourism Levy and Exemption Bill of Bhutan, 2020.
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Earlier, Indians do not require any visa to visit Bhutan and only two documents were needed
Earlier, Indian tourists visiting Bhutan were only required to carry any of the two valid travel documents necessary and did not have to pay any entry fee. The documents were an Indian passport with a minimum of 6 months validity and Voter ID Card issued by the Election Commission of India. Indian nationals did not require a visa to visit Bhutan.
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Indians travelling to Bhutan by road were only required to obtain a permit based on travel documents from the Immigration Office of the Royal Government of Bhutan at Phuentsholing. Those who travel by air were required to carry their travel documents at the entry permit and show them at the Paro International Airport.
You need to shell more now if you want to visit Bhutan
But now, if you are planning to enter Bhutan and enjoy there as Virushka did, you will have to shell out more now than you had to earlier because of the implementation of the new scheme.
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All images source: Pixabay
