44% Dip In The Inflow Of Indian Rupee

Today's KUENSEL reports that Indian Rupee earning has dipped by 44%!

The writing on the wall

According to the most recent data released by the Department of Tourism (DoT), during the 9 months period between September 2022 to June 26, 2023, a staggering 49,714 Indian tourists visited Bhutan. Based on these figures, let us do a simple math.

Let us consider that one Indian would spend a minimum of Rs.2,500.00 per day, including SDF, hotel, food, guide, monument fees, transportation and other small expenses. Let us say that they spend on the average four nights in the country. This would work out to:

49,714 x 2,500.00 x 4 = Rs.497,140,000.00

In addition to the expense listed above, they would have to have spent a good bit of amount on airfare. But the truth is that not even 2,000 of the total 49,714 Indian tourists travelled by DrukAir - given the extremely exorbitant airfare charged by the airline, they chose to fly into Bagdogra and travel overland through Jaigaon.

For a moment lets say that the DrukAir dismounts from their high horse and slashes their fare by 50% of the current round trip fare charged by them. Even at that amount, the sum would work out to roughly:

49,714 x Rs.40,000.00 = Rs.1,988,560,000.00

The sad reality is that there is not even a trickle of the Indian Rupee coming into Bhutan because the Jaigaon operators who usurp the tourism business from national operators pay tour payments in local Ngultrum.

Because the DrukAir charges unreasonably exorbitant airfare, the Indian tourists do not fly DrukAir. Instead they enter through Jaigaon - causing loss of revenue for the airline and wholesale deflection of tourist traffic to Jaigaon operators.

If the DrukAir were to be reasonable with their fares, all the Indian tourists would enter through Paro airport …. meaning all of them would come through Bhutanese tour operators thereby necessitating the tourists to make payment in Rupees directly to Bhutanese operators - instead of the payments ending up into the bank accounts of the Jaigaon operators.

And you wonder why there is 44% dip in the inflow of Indian Rupee?

I keep saying that we should tap into the Indian tourist market - they represent the most substantial and the most lucrative for Bhutan. Handled with care, Indian tourist arrivals could go as high as half a million per year!

Remember, our imports from India is as high as 80% …. meaning the Rupee is as important as the $$, if not more.