Bhutan plans on reducing 'expensive' airfares to boost tourism

In order to boost the tourism sector, Bhutan has planned to reduce the 'expensive' airfares to lower the price for visitors travelling to the country, Bhutan Live reported.

According to country's Finance Minister, this step would result in uptick of travellers to the country and increase the number of visitors that visit the nation, as the "expensive" airfare frequently discourages travellers from travelling to Bhutan.

Moreover, the government has put in place a number of incentives, such as lowering the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) from USD200 to USD100 per person, each night.


Other plans, include permitting low-cost hotels to accommodate tourists and creating other long-stay incentive programmes. The government is currently taking action to encourage travellers by considering price reductions.

“The government is planning with Drukair Corporation and Bhutan Airlines to reduce the airfare for the tourists. This is part of the government’s incentive, considering the tourists complain about the expensive airfare,” Bhutan Live quoted Finance Minister Namgay Tshering as saying.

However, other lawmakers believe that the SDF policy's frequent modifications are not the ideal strategy for advancing the tourist sector.