Travelers planning a vacation in Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of happiness, will have to revise their travel budget next year: starting grom January 1, fees for visiting historical sites across the country will increase significantly.
For example, the price of a ticket to visit the popular Paro Taktsang in Paro, which now stands at Nu. 500 (RS500 - a little over $ 7 dollars), will double in 2020. This is the biggest increase in prices for entrance tickets among all the monuments popular with tourists.
To visit all other popular places, such as the picturesque Tashichho Dzong monastery and the Memorial Chorten stupa in Thimphu; Rinpung Dzong and Kichu Lhakhang in Paro and Punakha Dzong, ticket prices will jump from Nu. 300 ($ 4.23) to Nu. 500. This will be applied to all significant tourist destinations, only pupils and students can benefit from half-price fees.
These measures are taken as part of a national policy to «curb» the excessive influx of guests from abroad. It is noteworthy that Bhutan has the highest tourist tax in the world, and, as already announced, the so-called “regional tourists” will also have to pay Nu.500 of taxes in the near future. These are the guests from India, Bangladesh and the Maldives, who still have not paid any fees and could cross the border without visas. According to estimates by the Bhutan Tourism Council, in 2018, out of the 274 thousand tourists who visited Bhutan, about 200 thousand were from this region, and about 180 thousand of them came from India.
In addition to increasing fees, the government of Bhutan will impose a limit on the number of tourists and foreign vehicles entering the country, along with the standardization of low-cost hotels.
Blogs
