Sikkim's Rs 50 tourism toll sparks debate over cost, sustainability

State argues the "entry fee" for travellers will boost infrastructure and instil ownership of sustainable tourism, but critics call it unjust and a burden on the sector. ADITI PHADNIS weighs in

“Please don’t call it an entry fee,” implored Sikkim Principal Secretary (tourism) C S Rao on the phone from Gangtok amid reports that the state government has begun imposing a ₹50 ‘entry fee’ on all tourists coming to the state beginning March 14.

 

“It is not a tax or a cess at all. It is not an entry fee. It is just our way of infusing ownership of sustainable tourism in Sikkim’s hospitality industry,” Rao said.

 

In August last year, he explained, the Assembly passed the Sikkim Registration of Tourists Trade Act 2024. This envisaged a ₹50 charge on hotels, homestays, and other accommodation, which would collect the one-time charge, valid for 30 days, from all tourists above five years of age staying overnight at any property in the state. The money collected by the hotel or homestay would be paid into a Tourism Sustainability Development Fund (TSDF) and utilised to strengthen tourism infrastructure in the state.

 

Sikkim, India’s most ecologically conscious state, has the highest per capita income among all states in India. It banned single-use plastics in 1998, several years before the central government did so in 2022. In 2016, it banned the use of packaged drinking water in government offices and events, as well as Styrofoam and thermocol disposable plates and cutlery. The same year, it was declared India’s first fully organic state, an achievement recognised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the time, then Chief Minister Pawan Chamling explained that disposable products were environmentally hazardous, generated a huge quantity of municipal waste, and occupied excessive landfill space.

 

When current Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang ‘Golay’ took office in 2019 and was re-elected in 2024, his government drew up a new tourism policy, mandating registration of all hotels, homestays, and other tourist accommodations. The policy envisaged the ₹50 charge as a way for the tourism industry to contribute. “The state intends to use the revenue generated from the fee to improve tourism infrastructure and services. These include enhancing road connectivity and improving cleanliness. The idea is to ensure a better experience for people visiting the state. But this sum (₹50) is too small to have any real impact. It is just a way of showing how much we value sustainability in all spheres, including tourism,” Rao said.

 

Compared to Gujarat, which received around 2.8 million foreign visitors in 2023, up from 1.7 million in 2022 — the highest in India (according to the most recent data available with the Union Ministry of Tourism, as stated by Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Lok Sabha on March 10) — Sikkim attracted only 93,000 foreign tourists in 2023, up from 68,000 in 2022. However, investment in tourism infrastructure is on a hectic pace. At least two new luxury hotels, one from the ITC Welcomhotel group and another by Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, will be unveiled this year. The Pakyong airport, inaugurated in September last year, is the first greenfield airport in the northeastern region, among the five highest airports in India, and considered an engineering marvel with a runway carved out of the mountain.

 

While this growth brings opportunity, it also represents a major threat. Sikkim saw its worst flash floods in recent history in October 2023, when a glacial lake flooded the Teesta River and the downstream Teesta III hydroelectric dam. For the tiny state, just 50 km from the Nathula Pass, it was a catastrophe: more than 20 Army personnel and significant quantities of weapons and ordnance were lost in the deluge. More than 100 bodies were recovered, and over 60,000 people were affected. The consensus was that it was the result of climate change.

 

Chief Minister Tamang has sought to allay fears in this regard. He told Business Standard last year that Sikkim’s ecotourism policy focuses on conservation, with initiatives such as minimal construction, tree protection, and annual impact assessments.

 

The ₹50 charge is part of this effort, but not everyone in the Opposition-less state (the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha holds all 32 seats in the Assembly) is convinced.

 

Mahesh Rai, spokesperson for the Citizen Action Party Sikkim, held a press conference in Gangtok last week, questioning why Indian citizens should pay an entry fee to visit a state within their own country. He compared the policy to Bhutan’s Sustainable Development Fund, which applies only to foreign tourists, arguing that Sikkim’s new rule unfairly targets domestic travellers.

 

“We will be collecting this fee from Indian citizens, which will negatively impact the tourism industry. There are already multiple taxes imposed on tourists,” Rai said.

 

Several permits and parking charges are already in place for visitors to North Sikkim, the Silk Route, and Nathula Pass. Additionally, wildlife permits cost as much as ₹100 per person, he said. The Citizen Action Party is new and contested polls for the first time in 2024. It received 0.01 per cent of the vote in the Lok Sabha elections and 6 per cent of the vote in the Assembly elections. Despite contesting 30 seats, it failed to win any.

 

State officials say Sikkim wants to grow tourism — but responsibly. In May, as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of Sikkim’s accession to India, the state will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British musician Ed Sheeran, who will hold a concert as part of the closing ceremony of the function. Bureaucrats hope both events will bring a flood of tourists and an opportunity to showcase India’s ‘Flower State’.