Bubble Tourism for Bhutan and India

Bhutan is focusing on ‘Bubble Tourism’ according to which a partnership can be forged between Indian and Bhutan that will help the economy of both countries.

This is certainly welcome news for the Indian travel and tourism industry which is still recovering from the outbreak of COVID-19. The Eastern India tourism sector has reportedly faced a loss of several hundred crores since March 2020.

The health ministry of Bhutan is being urged by the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) to ease some of the restrictions by cutting down the 21-day quarantine to three days, or withdraw it completely. If this proposal gets accepted, Bhutan can open its borders to visitors from outside.

‘Bubble Tourism’ or ‘Travel Corridors’ or ‘Green Lanes’ is a tourism partnership between two countries who have a high success rate in fighting or containing COVID-19. If two countries agree on Bubble Tourism then bilateral travel arrangements are made which includes no quarantine restrictions between them. 

Situated next to Bhutan, India is a suitable partner country for this initiative. The advantage of Bubble Tourism is that citizens of one country do not require a visa or passport for crossing international borders into another country operating under a friendship pact.

Bhutan is a safe travel destination for people right now since it has recorded only 245 positive COVID cases with zero deaths in a county with almost 8 lakh people. The contraction or death ratio versus the population on India is also much better than several developed nations.