BIF 2027 Festival Pass Terms & Conditions
These Terms & Conditions apply to tickets and passes issued for the Bhutan Innovation Festival 2027 (“BIF 2027” or the “Festival”). By purchasing, registering for, or using a BIF 2027 Festival Pass, the ticket holder (the “Participant”) agrees to the following terms.
1. Festival Pass & Admission
The Festival Pass provides admission to the BIF 2027 festival programme during the applicable festival dates. All Festival Passes are non-transferable, and admission is personal to the registered ticket holder and may be subject to identity verification at registration and/or entry. The Festival Pass does not guarantee admission to every individual talk, session, workshop, roundtable, experience or activity within the Festival. Certain programmes may: - run concurrently; - have limited seating or capacity; - require advance registration; - be available on a first-registered or first-available basis; and/or - be subject to additional eligibility, programme or protocol requirements. The programme, speakers, session formats, timings, venues and experiences remain subject to change by the BIF Secretariat without prior notice.
2. Festival Pass Price
The applicable Festival Pass price is the price displayed at the time of purchase. The First Release Festival Pass is priced at USD 1,500. Future releases of the Festival Passes may be offered at different prices. The purchase price of each Festival Pass includes only the benefits, rights and entitlements specifically and expressly stated as being included with the applicable Festival Pass at the time of purchase. Without prejudice to the foregoing, accommodation, international airfare, ground transportation and other personal travel expenses are not included within the Festival Pass and shall be borne by the Participant unless expressly stated otherwise.
3. Visa Fee & Visa Application
For eligible international Festival Pass holders, the applicable Bhutan visa application fee is included in the Festival Pass price. If the Bhutan visa application fee is included in a Festival Pass, this will be provided at the time of purchase. The visa application process will be coordinated centrally by BIF Secretariat with the Department of Immigration. Registered international participants will receive instructions regarding the required documentation and applicable next steps. Purchase of a Festival Pass does not constitute, and shall not be construed as, a grant, approval or guarantee of a Bhutan visa. All visa applications remain subject to the sole discretion of the relevant Bhutanese government and immigration authorities. Each Participant shall be solely responsible for ensuring that all relevant supporting documents in connection with the visa application are complete and accurate and submitted within the required timelines. A failure to do so may result in delays or rejection of the visa application.
4. Visa Rejection & Refund
Festival Passes are strictly non-refundable except where an international participant has complied with all required visa application procedures and timelines and their visa application is officially rejected by the relevant Bhutanese immigration or government authority. In such circumstances, the BIF Secretariat may, in its sole discretion, refund the price of the Festival Pass, excluding the visa application fee, upon submission and verification of official proof of rejection. For the avoidance of doubt, the visa application fee is strictly non-refundable once the visa application has been submitted, including in the event that the visa application is subsequently rejected. In the event of rejection of the visa, the BIF Secretariat shall not be liable for refunding or reimbursing any third-party expenses incurred by a Participant in connection with BIF 2027 or otherwise, including but not limited to any expenses relating to international or domestic airfare, accommodation, travel-agent charges, insurance, transportation, or any other travel-related costs.
5. Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) Waiver
Eligible registered international BIF 2027 Participants are entitled to receive an approved Sustainable Development Fee (“SDF”) waiver for the period of 18 March 2027 to 31 March 2027, inclusive, with departure from Bhutan required on 31 March 2027, subject to the applicable requirements of the Royal Government of Bhutan. If the SDF waiver is applicable, this will be notified to the relevant Participant. The waiver (if applicable) applies only within the officially approved dates above. In the event that BIF 2027 is postponed, rescheduled or otherwise modified, the applicable waiver period may be revised accordingly, subject to the approval and requirements of the relevant Bhutanese authorities. Any revision of the waiver period will be notified to the relevant Participant. Any stay in Bhutan by the Participant outside the approved waiver period may be subject to the prevailing SDF and any other applicable government charges, which shall be payable by the Participant.
6. Travel & Accommodation
International or domestic airfare and accommodation are not included in the standard Festival Pass unless specifically stated otherwise at the time of purchase of the Festival Pass. BIF Secretariat may, in its sole discretion, facilitate access to official travel partners who may assist participants with accommodation, transportation and travel arrangements in Bhutan. Any travel or accommodation arrangements made through a third-party provider are subject to that provider’s own terms, availability, pricing, cancellation and refund policies. BIF Secretariat shall not be held responsible for any act, omission, default, delay, interruption, cancellation, loss, damage, injury, expense or other matter arising out of or in connection with any services provided by any third-party travel, airline, accommodation or other service providers recommended by the BIF Secretariat.
7. Programme Changes & Availability
BIF Secretariat reserves the right to make any changes to the BIF 2027 programme, including speakers, moderators, sessions, venues, schedules, formats, activities and experiences at its sole discretion without prior notice to Participants. Certain experiences and access are subject to availability and, where applicable, programme capacity, protocol and institutional approval. Changes to any individual speakers, sessions, programme timings or activities do not entitle any Participant to a refund.
8. Cancellation by the Ticket Holder
Save for the exception described under Section 4 above, Festival Passes are strictly non-refundable, non-cancellable and non-transferable by the Participant. Participants are therefore strongly encouraged to obtain appropriate travel insurance covering cancellation, medical emergencies, travel disruption and other relevant risks.
9. Festival Cancellation or Material Changes
The BIF Secretariat shall have the sole and absolute discretion to partially or fully cancel, or reschedule, BIF 2027, in which case the BIF Secretariat shall have the sole discretion to determine the applicable ticket refund policy or alternative arrangements for the Participants. For the avoidance of doubt, the BIF Secretariat is not obliged to provide any refund of the Festival Pass due to any cancellation or rescheduling of BIF 2027. BIF shall not be liable for refunding or reimbursing any third-party expenses incurred by Participants in connection with BIF 2027 as a result of the rescheduling or cancellation of BIF 2027, including but not limited to any expenses related to airfare, accommodation, travel-agent charges or other travel arrangements, except to the extent required by applicable law.
10. Health, Safety & Personal Responsibility
Participants are responsible for assessing their own ability to travel to and participate in BIF 2027 and the associated activities, including obtaining the relevant visa if applicable. Participants are strongly encouraged to obtain adequate medical and travel insurance before travelling to Bhutan. Participants are responsible for their personal belongings and for following applicable safety instructions, venue rules and directions from Festival staff and relevant authorities. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the BIF Secretariat and authorized third party service providers will not be responsible for any Participants’ personal injury, loss or damage to personal belongings, or personal expenses incurred by the Participant in connection with BIF 2027 arising from circumstances outside the organisers’ reasonable control. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Terms and Conditions and to the extent permitted by applicable law, in the event the BIF Secretariat is found liable to a Participant for any claim arising out of and/or in connection with BIF 2027, the BIF Secretariat’s aggregate liability shall not exceed the price of the Festival Pass actually paid by that Participant.
11. Conduct & Right of Admission
Participants must comply with all applicable venue security requirements and instructions issued by BIF Secretariat, venue management and relevant Bhutanese authorities. BIF Secretariat reserves the right to refuse admission or remove any participant or void any Festival Pass of any Participant for the purposes of safety, security, disruptive behaviour, violation of Festival rules or applicable law without refund or compensation to the Participant.
12. Photography, Filming & Media
BIF 2027 may be photographed, filmed, livestreamed or otherwise recorded. By attending the Festival, all participants hereby acknowledge and consent to the BIF Secretariat’s collection, use and disclosure of all forms of such images, recordings, livestream broadcasts or other media content containing their images or voices as captured during the course of BIF 2027 for the purposes of the BIF Secretariat’s communications, documentation, media and promotional purposes, including publication on websites, social media channels and other marketing materials, subject to applicable law.
13. Personal Information
By registering for BIF 2027, each Participant acknowledges and consents that their personal information will be collected, used and processed by the BIF Secretariat and its authorized service providers as necessary for the purposes of relating to the administration and operation of BIF 2027, including ticketing, BIF 2027 registration, visa coordination, security, communications and other legitimate operational requirements arising in relation to BIF 2027. Each Participant further acknowledges that his or her personal data may be disclosed to relevant government authorities, immigration authorities, and other authorized service providers where reasonably necessary. Where personal information is required to be shared with the relevant government authorities or authorised Festival service providers for these purposes, such information will be handled in accordance with applicable requirements, laws and BIF Secretariat’s privacy policy.
14. Bhutanese Pass
The Bhutanese Pass is a separate ticket category intended exclusively for eligible Bhutanese citizens and will be subject to the relevant eligibility and registration requirements, including verification where applicable. The final programme access, inclusions, allocation and other conditions of the Bhutanese Pass will be published separately before the sale of the Bhutanese Pass.
15. Experience Pass
The Experience Pass is a separate package and may include additional travel, accommodation, activities and ground arrangements. The final itinerary, inclusions, exclusions, pricing, cancellation conditions and third-party travel terms will be published separately before the sale of the Experience Pass. The approved BIF SDF waiver period remains from the period of 18 March 2027 to 31 March 2027 (departure from Bhutan required on 31 March 2027), while the currently planned Experience Pass itinerary is approximately 10 days.
16. General Provisions
These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by the laws of GMC. Any dispute shall first be referred to good-faith negotiation between senior representatives of both Parties, failing which it shall be resolved by arbitration administered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre for the time being in force, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Clause. The seat of the arbitration shall be Singapore. The Tribunal shall consist of one (1) arbitrator to be appointed by the President of the Court of Arbitration of the SIAC for the time being. The language of the arbitration shall be English. The arbitration and this agreement to arbitrate shall be governed by the laws of Singapore. These Terms & Conditions may be revised by the BIF Secretariat in its sole discretion from time to time, without prior notice.
17. Acceptance of Terms
By completing the purchase or registration process, the Participant acknowledges and confirms that they have read and accepted these Terms & Conditions and any additional policies applicable to their respective ticket category.