Tourism Policy of Bhutan (High Value, Low Volume Tourism)

Bhutan is one of the best examples of sustainable eco-tourism in the world. It is a country committed to this concept, inspired by the Buddhist view of the interdependence between man and nature.

Expressed in the unique development philosophy –Gross National Happiness- the national policy of High Value, Low Volume tourism asks every visitor to be sensitive to a social, cultural, and environmental system that is trying to preserve the best of its traditions in a rapidly changing world. The government is determined to safeguard its heritage to ensure that the people maintain their dignity against the onslaught of globalisation and modernization.

As mystical as its name sounds. The Land of Thunder Dragon is not museum; it is an existing culture and possibly one of the last living examples of a rich Himalayan society.

While tourism may be important as a revenue earner to support the country’s free health and education services, Bhutan sees no gain in succumbing to over-commercialism even in the field of tourism. It recognizes that a small country emerging from centuries of isolation must do so in its own time and at its own pace. A modern economy is gently being introduced to the dominantly rural subsistence livelihood of a majority of its people. Hence the policy of High Value, Low Volume tourism to enable Bhutan to share its culture with the world and to learn from visitors who seek a destination that is an anachronism in today’s global fast-paced world.

Bhutan opened up tourism in 1974 and the government adopted a cautious tourism policy from the beginning to avoid the negative impacts that mass tourism could have on a small country.

(Visitors pay a minimum tariff of US $ 200.00 / day, an all inclusive payment for accommodation, meals, guide services, transportation, entry fees for monuments and museum, government taxes).  The exclusive police is Bhutan’s embodiment of eco-tourism. The Government has long lived up to its vision of sustainable living encapsulated in its Gross National Happiness policy and its middle path development. Mountaineering is closed even when the world’s climbers are waiting eagerly at its doorstep to conquer any of the 20 virgin peaks within Bhutan. About 70 percent of the land is under forest cover, and Bhutan aims to preserve its majesty.

Tourism is one of the largest generators of foreign exchange for the country’s small economy. The Tourism Council of Bhutan is clear that its policy of High Value, Low Volume is the right policy because Bhutan is just too small for mass tourism.

And as the world begins to discover the Land of Thunder Dragon, many go away with a sense of having been in a special place, far from the insanity of modern living. Here is a land where life may not be materially luxurious but it provides much that is good for a society that is not yet caught up with the global rat race.

As Bhutan steps into the 21^st century, it is determined to keep its heritage, its spirit and its cultural alive in a fast homogenising world.

Tourism Council of Bhutan guides, monitors and regulates the tourism industry. One of the Council’s main functions in the next few years is to maintain a high standard of hospitality and services in Bhutan and to ensure adequate infrastructure for tourism to maintain Bhutan as a high quality tourist destination. A fee of US $ 10.00 each visitor to development infrastructure is levied.

There are more than 1300 licensed tour guides and more than 478 registered tour operators in Bhutan although many of them cater only to a small number of tourists each year. Together with employees of the national air line, Druk Air, Tourism is the second largest revenue earner for Bhutan after hydropower.

The Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) is responsible for strengthening the private tour operators in Bhutan. It provides opportunity for tourism training and works with Tourism Council of Bhutan in marketing Bhutan as a tour destination in Asia.