Bangladesh is a sacred place for Bhutan: Bhutanese Ambassador

During the tourist season, every foreign tourist has to pay US$ 250 per day in Bhutan. However, tourists from Bangladesh, India and Maldives are out of the list. That is why tourists from the three countries have been getting special benefits in the ‘Regional Tourist’ quota for so long. There was no hassle of extra fees. But Bhutan’s new tourism law, which is called the standard operating system, has set a US$ 16 (Tk. 1,200) fee per day for a single regional tourist. They named it ‘Sustainable Development Fee - SDF. But why did they impose the tax suddenly?

Bhutan’s designated Bangladeshi ambassador Rinchen Kuentsyl said that the initiative was aimed at "Protecting the environment and heritage, achieving sustainability, keeping tourism infrastructure afloat, ensuring decent services and giving benefits to the marginalised people."

During a recent exchange of views with the Bangladesh Travel Writers Association at the Royal Bhutanese embassy in Dhaka, the Bhutanese ambassador gave his explanation. Kencho Thinley, Minister Counsellor (Trade) of the embassy, was present, among others, at that time. The interviewer was accompanied by Ashrafuzzaman Ujjwal, president of BTWA, and Shakil bin Mushtaq, an executive member of the association.

Explaining the reason behind the imposition of SDF, the Bhutanese ambassador said, "Of the $250 taken from the foreigners, $65 is deducted for SDF. For regional tourists it is only $16 for a Bangladeshi."

But Rinchen Kuentsyl did not give a direct answer to the question of whether the fee would reduce tourists’ arrival in Bhutan. However, he said, "So far, the regional tourists have been travelling on their own, staying in unauthorised hotels and motels, arranging their own transports. The Department of Tourism and Marginal people did not get much benefit from the tourism sector. We want to ensure the benefits of the locals involved in the tourism sector of our country."

He then went into detail about the traditions, nature, socio-culture, customs of his country. He did not seem at all worried about the decline in tourists. Rather, he is more focused on maintaining the environment, nature and heritage of his country.

But, the foreign income of the country is very inadequate. After the export of hydropower to India, the second highest income comes from tourism. Then the third highest comes from Bangladesh exporting fruits. So, what makes the country so brave?

Analysing the information received, it is seen that Bhutan was a mysterious and unknown place to the world until it was recognised as a member of the United Nations in 1974. Almost four decades have passed since then, but the mystery of Bhutan has not been revealed.

The ambassador said that tourists have always had the opportunity to visit selected parts of the country. But the people of the country have not exposed their traditions and customs to outsiders. Lying in the lap of the Himalayas, many of the country's mountain peaks have not conquered yet. To the people of the country, trekking means pilgrimage to inaccessible mountains. That too is not in all mountains. They believe, the high mountains are the place of supernatural forces. The Gods may get angry.

Therefore, Bhutan has always followed conservatism. They got the badge to launch television as the last country in the world. They maintained the King's warning about the misuse of television.

Bhutanese pay special attention to the practice of traditional beliefs; lightning is an element of dragons. The local name of Bhutan is, therefore, Druk Jul, which means the land of the Thunder Dragon, which is painted in the national flag. They have a mandatory dress code. Men wear traditional clothing that hangs down to the knees. Women wear long dresses up to the ankles. The colour of the clothes signifies social class and dignity. The inheritance of their property is not the son, but the eldest daughter. After the wedding, the groom goes to the bride's house. Their national sport is archery.

"We never want to let our customs ruined," the ambassador said.

Though the per capita income of Bhutan people is low. Backward in education and medicine. But in some respects, this country of mysterious beauty has set a precedent for the whole world. Animals cannot be slaughtered in this country of constitutional monarchy. Hunting is also prohibited. Welcoming the guest birds is a festival. Education and medical services are provided free of charge. They do not need any traffic lights. They are the only carbon-negative country in the carbon emission plagued world today. Fixing a regulation of 60 percent forest land in the country, they now owned 72 per cent forest land of the total area. Bhutan has become a role model in establishing a global eco-friendly country by banning plastic products. Bhutan is still the only country that banned the production and marketing of tobacco products. There is a prison-fine system for smoking in public. Their average lifespan is about 70 years.

Highlighting the importance of National Happiness over GDP, ambassador Rinchen Kuentsyl said, "We try to find happiness for the people. So, we measure national happiness. This index of ours is called Gross National Happiness or GNH. More importance to sociality, health and environmental well-being than economic issues are preferred here."

Bhutan is one of the happiest countries in the world in terms of sustainable development, preservation and development of cultural values, protection of the natural environment and establishment of good governance. Their traditions and lifestyles are not yet changed under any foreign country's influence. Isolated from the rest of the world, immense natural beauty and sense of dignity made them a happy nation.

It is perhaps the conservative mentality that has perpetuated Bhutan's cultural, ethnographic and sovereign identity. They did not allow any force to rule them as a colony. They may not want more tourists to preserve the culture and nature of the country. But the ambassador did not answer the question directly.

According to newspaper reports, before the Covid pandemic around 2.5 lakh tourists visited Bhutan in 2018. Two lakh of them were regional tourists. By imposing SDF, Bhutan is trying to curb the huge number of regional tourists and involve the marginalised group to share the benefit of the tourism sector.

They found that despite being one of the most dangerous runways in the world, Paro International Airport attracts adventurers. The attraction of their ancient monasteries, virgin forests, mysterious hills was never diminished. Travellers from all over the world have flocked to heaven. They will come in the future too. The imposition of SDF may reduce the number of regional tourists, but the flow will not stop. Many parts of the 38,400-square-kilometre mountain range may not be accessible. Yet tourists will come. There will be no need to give away self-identity for this.

Rinchen Kuentsyl gave special importance to Bangladesh in between describing the glory of his country. Being a "Landlock" country resident, maybe he likes the beaches of this country. Drew attention to the Sundarbans the single largest mangrove in the world. The issue of Mahasthangarh also came up in the discussion. Also mentioned the Bhutanese students who came to study in this country. Praised Bangladesh as a country with a fast-growing economy. However, the ambassador surprises when asked why Bangladesh is most important to Bhutan. He smiled and said, ‘Tilopa and Naropa, the great saints of the tenth and eleventh centuries, and Atish Dipankar, the religious leader, were born in Bangladesh. In the prayer we recall Tilopa and Naropa. Because of them, your country is sacred to us. '

Translated from Bengali by: Asasul Islam Biswas