Greener Living
Bhutan Reopens to Tourists Willing to Pay $200-a-Day Visitor Tax
- Himalayan kingdom plans to use revenue to protect environment
- Bhutan closed its borders two years ago because of Covid
Thimphu, Bhutan.
Photographer: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
One of the world’s most remote and exotic travel destinations, Bhutan, reopened its borders to tourists on Friday, but with a catch: a $200-per-night tax.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of fewer than 800,000 people, sandwiched between China and India, has increased its Sustainable Development Fee from $65 a night as part of a “renewed focus of sustainability” in the government’s strategy to attract “high value, low volume” tourism.