The Government of Bhutan has announced its decision to reduce sustainable development fees (SDF) for dollar-paying tourists in an attempt to revive the tourism sector.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment announced a 50 per cent discount on the prevailing SDF of USD 200 for US dollar-paying tourists visiting the country.
After the move was announced, the effective SDF with the discount will now be USD 100 per person per day. The new changes will come into effect from September 1 and will remain effective till August 31, 2027.
Another change is the 50 per cent discount on the SDF rates applied to children aged between 6 and 12 years for US dollar-paying children visiting as tourists, reports Kuensel.
“The 24-hour SDF waiver for tourists staying in the border towns will continue,” the Ministry stated as quoted by the Bhutanese newspaper.