Bhutan is possibly one of the best examples of sustainable eco tourism and one country that is committed to this concept, inspired by the Buddhist view of the interdependence between man and nature.
Expressed in the unique development philosophy  ` Gross National Happiness’ the national policy of high value, low Impact tourism asks every visitor to be sensitive to a social, cultural, and environmental system that is trying to preserve the best of its traditions in a rapidly changing world. The government is determined to safeguard its heritage to ensure that the people maintain their dignity against the onslaught of globalization and modernization.
As mystical as its name may sound, the Land of the Thunder Dragon is not a museum, it is an existing culture and possibly one of the last living examples of a rich Himalayan society.
While tourism may be important as a revenue earner to support the country’s free health care and education services, Bhutan sees no gain in succumbing to over commercialism even in the field of tourism. It recognizes that a small country emerging from centuries of isolation must do so in its own time and at its own pace. A modern economy is gently being introduced to the dominantly rural subsistence livelihood of a majority of its people. Hence, the policy of high value, low Impact tourism to enable Bhutan to share its culture with the world and to learn from visitors who seek a destination that is an anachronism in today’s global fast paced world.
Bhutan opened up it’s tourism in 1974 and the government adopted a cautious tourism policy from the beginning to avoid the negative impacts that mass tourism could have on it small country. ( Visitors pay a minimum tariff of US $ 200/- per day, an all inclusive payment for accommodation, meals, guide, transportation for sightseeing places and Tourism Development  Fund. )
This exclusive policy was Bhutan’s representation of eco-tourism. The government has long lived up to its vision of sustainable living, encapsulated in its Gross National Happiness policy and its middle path to development. Mountaineering is closed even when the world’s climbers are waiting eagerly at its doorstep to conquer any of the 20 virgin peaks within Bhutan. About 70 percent of the land is under forest cover, and Bhutan aims to preserve its majesty.
Tourism is one of the largest generators of foreign exchange for the country’s small economy. The Tourism Council of Bhutan ( Government ) is clear that its policy of high value, low Impact, is the right policy because Bhutan is just too small for mass tourism.
And as the world begins to discover the Land of the Thunder Dragon, many go away with a sense of having been in a special place, far from the insanity of modern living. Here is a land where life may not be materially luxurious but it provides much that is good for a society that is not yet caught up with the global rat race.
As Bhutan steps into the 21st century, it is determined to keep its heritage, its spirit and its culture alive in a fast homogenizing world.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." Saint Augustine