The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Tourist arrivals to Bhutan increased slightly in August, with 10,486 visitors recorded during the month, according to the Department of Tourism’s August 2026 Monthly Tourism Bulletin. The figure represents an increase of 476 visitors compared with August 2025, when 10,010 tourists visited Bhutan. This translates to a year-on-year increase of about 4.8 percent.
Indian tourists continued to dominate Bhutan’s tourism market in August, accounting for 6,826 arrivals, or about 65 percent of the total. Tourists from other countries accounted for 3,660 arrivals. Japan was the second largest source market with 357 visitors, followed by the United States with 351, Bangladesh with 320, China with 311 and Vietnam with 252.
Singapore contributed 175 visitors, while there were 155 and 154 arrivals from Malaysia and the United Kingdom respectively. The record shows 130 visitors from the Republic of China. Among Indian visitors, the highest number of arrivals, at 742, came from Maharashtra, followed by Kerala with 503 and West Bengal with 474.
Phuentsholing remained the busiest port of entry in August, recording 4,868 tourist arrivals. Paro recorded 4,588 arrivals, while Samtse and Samdrup Jongkhar recorded 381 and 340 respectively. Gelephu recorded 306 arrivals and Gelephu International Airport recorded three. The average length of stay also varied by market. Indian tourists stayed for an average of four days, while tourists from countries other than India stayed for an average of five days.
The August figure follows a strong rise in tourist arrivals earlier this year. Monthly arrivals reached 47,343 in May, the highest monthly figure shown in the department’s January to August comparison, before declining to 25,195 in June and 9,762 in July. The latest figures indicate that while tourist arrivals have recovered from the lower levels seen during the pandemic, the monthly flow continues to fluctuate significantly across the year.
Bhutan had a total of 3,495 registered tour guides as of August 2026. Meanwhile, Bhutan had 1,746 registered tour operators as of August, with 25 new operators registered during the month. Monthly registrations of tour operators have fluctuated throughout the year.
