The two-week ban on tourists after confirmation of the first coronavirus case is expected to hit Bhutan badly. But the authorities said they are working on a contingency plan to minimise the impact on tourism in the picturesque Himalayan nation.

On March 6, Bhutan had banned the entry of tourists for two weeks after a 79-year-old US citizen, who had entered the country by air from India on March 2, had tested positive for the virus. The tourist has since recovered, and those who came in contact with him have tested negative. However, Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering said that Bhutan would still remain in the “orange zone” or with moderate disruption.

Officials in the tourism and allied sectors fear that the livelihoods of thousands of employees will be impacted. Bhutan's economy is largely dependent on tourism.

In its efforts to protect tour guides, the Guide Association of Bhutan (GAB) met Finance Minister Namgay Tshering to request the government to come up with plans to keep the vulnerable people economically engaged.

Garab Dorji, the president of the association, said that he shared his concerns about guides’ livelihood in case the COVID-19 situation prolonged. The finance minister, he said, assured that the government would look into the suggestion.

“If the government can think of engaging our guides in other economically gainful activities, that will be a huge respite,” Dorji said.

There are more than 4,300 tour guides in the country.

He said the finance minister has promised to keep tour guides and those in hotels and tour companies engaged in different activities like up-scaling training and similar activities were possible.

Initially, the tourist ban and the closure of schools were for one week. But the prime minister on March 12 announced that the tourist ban would be extended because of the detection of new cases globally.

 “We are worried about the chances of the virus spreading. But we are also worried about the economy and jobs,” the prime minister said.

About 50,000 people are in the tourism and allied sectors. “If we consider the families supported by the sector, the livelihood of more than 150,000 people could be affected,” he said.

The government, the prime minister said, was working with various agencies on mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 on the economy.

The government has said that the country has incurred an estimated loss of USD 2.2 million so far since the ban came into effect.

The tourist season in Bhutan lasts till June.

 Before the ban, this Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, had received a total of 5,784 tourists from 74 countries from January 2020 to March 16, according to the Bhutanese newspaper.

The largest group are from the US with 1,019 tourists, followed by China with 712 and the UK with 474, Germany with 368, Vietnam, with 282, Australian with 241, Singaporean with 235, Malaysian with 233 and Japanese with 217 all in the top 10.