Please note: For a more in-depth version of the article, please check out the written by Patrick Stephens (@paddy_stephens) in the Palatinate (https://www.palatinate.org.uk/shangri-nah-tourism-vs-bhutan/).
Bhutan, a seemingly-mystical country perched on the Himalayan mountains, the last Buddhist kingdom on earth, and the only country to be carbon positive. It is famed for its rich, beautiful environment, seamlessly integrating villages, modern life, and ancient monuments. However, there is a price to maintaining this nature, and it comes at the expense of the tourists.
The king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesal Namgyel Wangchuk, has employed a system of ‘High Value, Low Volume’ Tourism (a phrase coined by him in 2019). Currently, the price to the few tourists allowed within comes at a staggering $250 per day to visit (a far-reduced $17 for Indian visitors), not including any other expenses: travel, accommodation, visitor fees etc. The $250 model appears to be sustainable, but the reduction of rates to such an extent for Indian tourists, as a courtesy from Bhutan to the Indian government, is extremely problematic. As a result of the reduced price, Indians make up the vast majority of tourists to the country. However, despite the huge costs they incur to the Bhutanese government, in terms of tourist facilities and infrastructure which has to be built, they aren’t paying enough for the government to be able to afford the increased spending on tourism and sustain their environmental goals.
Overall, the economy of Bhutan has become dependent on the increasing numbers of $17 tourists to pay off these ever-increasing expenditures. The more tourists that arrive, the higher these expenditures get. This has left Bhutan in an ‘ecologically destructive vicious cycle’ of environment destruction, rising debts, and an overwhelming amount of the workforce being employed by the tourism industry.
Written by Noah Mitchell
Media by Ben Hyland
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