All visitors to Bhutan must have pre-visa prior to the arrivals in the Kingdom except for Indian, Bangladeshi and Maldivian citizen. Those who do not have visa approval will not be permitted to board the Drukair flight to Bhutan. Your visa can be processed through Travel Madness only. All visitors must hold passports valid for at least 6months before entering into Bhutan.

Every individual visitor are required to fill up the Custom Form and hand over to concerned authorities upon arrival at Paro International Airport. Following articles are exempted from duty:-

• Personal affects and articles for day-to-day use by the visitor.
• 2 liters of alcohol, 400 cigarettes, 150 gms of pipe tobacco.
• Instruments, apparatus or appliances for professional use.
• Photographic equipment, video cameras and other electronic goods for personal use

The articles mentioned under c). & d). must be declared in Custom Form. If such items disposed off in Bhutan by sale of gift, they are liable for custom duty. Import and Export of following goods are strictly prohibited in Bhutan.

• Arms, ammunitions, explosives and military stores.
• All narcotics and drugs except medically prescribed drugs.
• Wildlife products, especially those of endangered species.
• Antiques.

Also visitors are advised to be cautious in purchasing old and used items. Custom authorities will not allow any old / used items to be taken out of the country if they have not been certified as non-antiques. Imports of plants, soils etc. are subject to quarantine regulations. These items must be cleared on arrival.

Bhutan maintains “High Value, Low Volume” and our Tourism asks every visitor to Bhutan to be sensitive to the social, culture and environmental system that is trying to preserve the best of its traditions in a rapidly changing world. Bhutan opened up tourism in 1974 and the government adopted a cautious tourism policy from the beginning to avoid the negative impacts that mass tourism could have in a small country.

This exclusive policy was Bhutan’s representation of eco-tourism. The government has long lived to its vision of sustainable living, encapsulated in its Gross National Happiness policy and its middle path development. Mountaineering is closed even when the world’s climbers eagerly waiting to conquer the 20 virgin peaks within Bhutan.

Tourism in Bhutan was privatized by the Royal Government of Bhutan in 1991. Today it is a vibrant business with nearly 500 private operators at the helm of affairs.

The Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) guides, monitors and regulates the tourism industry. One of the main functions of Council is to maintain a high standard of hospitality and services in Bhutan and to ensure adequate infrastructure for tourism to maintain Bhutan as a high quality tourist destination. A fee of US$10 from each visitor is levied to develop infrastructure.

The Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) is responsible for strengthening the private tour operations in Bhutan.
The tourism industry in Bhutan is founded on the principle of sustainability, meaning that tourism must be environmentally and ecologically friendly, socially and culturally acceptable and economically viable. The number of tourists visiting Bhutan is regulated to a manageable level because of the lack of infrastructure also.

The Royal Government of Bhutan recognizes that tourism is a world-wide phenomenon and an important means of achieving socioeconomic development particularly for a developing country like Bhutan. It also recognizes that tourism, in affording the opportunity to travel, can help in promoting understanding among people and building closer ties of friendship based on appreciation and respect for different cultures and lifestyles.

Towards achieving this objective, the Royal Government, since inception of tourism in the year 1974, has adopted a very cautious approach to growth and development of the tourism industry in Bhutan. In order to minimize the problems, the number of tourists has been maintained at a manageable level and this control on number is exercised through a policy of government regulated tourist tariff.

We request our valued customers to go through with our company’s tour cancellation policy always stick with strict tour cancellation policy in our company. If booked tours and cancel subsequently are subject to cancellation charges as below: –

• Within 30 days of the start of program- No- charge
• Within three weeks (21days) – 50% of rate
• Within two weeks (14days) – 30% of rate
• Less than 14 days or cancellation without notice- Non refundable