Travel into Bhutan is regulated by the Government in order to minimise the negative effects of tourism upon its fragile environment and culture.
All visitors must travel through an authorized Bhutanese agent or its overseas representatives on prepaid and pre-planned itinerary. The basic policy is that tourists other then Indian national pay $200 for each night in Bhutan and this covers accommodation, meals, transport, Guide and and administrative services to obtain visas, permits, flight booking hotels etc.
As such there are no limitations (quota) on how many can visit each year but due to limited capacity of travel infrastructure such as hotel rooms and flights to absorb tourists, compounded by high rates, these automatically limits the the number of tourists that can visit at the same time.
Tourism opened its doors to the visitors in 1974, managed and run by state. The tourist industry was then cautiously privatized in 1991 and further liberalized in 1998. Last year, fewer then 8000 tourists visited Bhutan.
