Bhutan does tourism in a way pretty much no other country does. The fundamental drive here isn't to make money from tourists,despite that hefty Sustainable Development Fee,and despite the fact Bhutan is still considered a developing nation,with a GDP that puts it far down the world rankings,level with the likes of Suriname and Greenland.
"We're not looking at tourism as a money-making exercise,"Tshering said."We will not count on tourism as a way to generate income for the country. That's absolutely not correct. Any revenue[from the sustainability fee] will be reinvested in tourism products – 100 per cent,if not more. So,one traveller will spend,the next traveller will benefit."
Here is a country,essentially,that is upfront about the fact that it doesn't really want tourists. Or at least,not many tourists. If you do decide to visit Bhutan you will be very welcome,of course. You will be treated well. But you will have to pay a lot of money for that privilege.
The idea here is to preserve Bhutan the way it is. That means preserving its environment – the country is one of only two that has declared itself carbon negative – as well as preserving its culture. And the way to do that is to keep visitor numbers down.
"Our culture is very,very sensitive,"Tshering told me."Very special. We would like to keep it this way and pass it on to the next generation. We don't want to block visitors from experiencing what we are experiencing,but yes,that is one of the reasons behind the[new fee] policy.
"We[also] want to make sure our environment is as pristine or better than it is now. In the last 10 years I can see it degrading. So,we need to be serious on preserving what we have. In the last few years we started experiencing a little bit the side effects of mass tourism. We don't want to use tourism to generate revenue in any form."
Bhutan's plan is pretty simple:high value,low volume. Create a system of tourism that will only appeal to the few. That is,either those who really,really want to be there,or those who don't care how much it costs. Committed visitors,or rich visitors.
The Bhutanese government no doubt looks at famously over-touristed places such as Amsterdam,Barcelona,Kyoto,Venice and Bali and thinks:no thanks. And they've done something about it.
It's a blunt instrument,but an effective one. How many people are going to spend $300 a day just on entry fees? Think of what you could get for $300 a day in neighbouring India,or in Thailand,or Vietnam,or even Japan.
A lot. A whole lot.
Bhutan is the first country to do this so overtly,to protect itself from the wider world by pricing it out,but I don't think it will be the last. As global tourism picks up again after COVID-19 border closures,as the world's population swells and we all start to move around again en masse,other fragile destinations will have to combat the weight of excess numbers.
We all like to assume that as travellers we're doing a basic good for the world,that we're spreading money around and exchanging cultures and not just being dumb,destructive tourists. We assume destinations want us,regardless of how much money we have to spend. Travel is egalitarian – it's a great leveller.
But that's already not true in Bhutan. And the rest of the world will follow.
Email:b.groundwater@traveller.com.au
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