High value.
Low volume.
Bhutan's tourism policy is unlike anywhere else. It is designed to protect what visitors come to see, and to make sure tourism returns value to Bhutanese communities.
A development philosophy, not a slogan
Gross National Happiness is Bhutan’s guiding framework for development. It holds that progress should be measured by the wellbeing of people and the health of the environment and culture, not by economic output alone.
For tourism, this shapes everything: the scale of visitation, how operators behave, the protection of sacred sites, and the expectation that the industry contributes back to the communities it passes through. ABTO’s own purpose is written in these terms.
Protecting what visitors come for
The high value, low volume policy limits pressure on sites, communities and infrastructure while ensuring the sector generates meaningful revenue. The Sustainable Development Fee funds free healthcare, free education and conservation.
Through EU SUSTOUR, member operators build measurable sustainability action plans covering waste, energy, procurement, community benefit and carbon reporting.
One of the world’s ten biodiversity hotspots
Over 70% forested
The Constitution requires a minimum of 60% forest cover for all time. Bhutan remains carbon negative.
Protected network
National parks and biological corridors cover more than half the country, linked so wildlife can move freely.
Takin to snow leopard
From subtropical foothills to alpine peaks: tiger, red panda, black-necked crane and the takin, the national animal.
Over 700 species
A major draw for specialist birding groups, with endemic and migratory species across every altitude band.