Gangtok, Mar 15 (UNI) In an unprecedented move, the Sikkim government has imposed an entry fee of Rs 50 per person under the Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Rules,2025, official sources said here on Saturday.
The entry fee is with effect from March, 2025, a notification said.
" The Sikkim government has officially imposed a tourist entry fee ofRs. 50 per person under The Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Rules2025,which came into effect from March 2025," it added.
The fee will be collected by the hotels at the time of check-in and deposited into the Tourism Sustainability Development (TSD)Fund to improve tourism infrastructure and services across the state.
According to the principal secretary of the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, C.S. Rao, the fee applies to all tourists except children below five years of age and those visiting for government work.The Rs. 50 fee will allow tourists to explore Sikkim for one month.
" If a tourist leaves the state and re-enters within the same month,they will need to pay the fee again," it said.
However, if they stay continuously for a month, they will not have topay the fee again when checking into other hotels.The state government aims to use the revenue generated from the fee to enhance road connectivity, improve cleanliness, and develop tourism infrastructure,ensuring a better experience for visitors.
The former kingdom, which merged with the Indian union in 1975 by a referendum, was actually opened for the travellers in early 90s when the then chief minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari persuaded the Centre for opening the eastern Himalayan state to the Indian travellers.
UNI PC KK