India News | Tourism Ministry Focuses on Reviving Sector with Special Impetus on Buddhists Sites Across India
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Tourism ministry is focussing on reviving the sector, which is facing unprecedented slump due to the Covid pandemic, with special impetus on Buddhist sites across the country.
Varanasi, Oct 8 (PTI) The Tourism ministry is focussing on reviving the sector, which is facing unprecedented slump due to the Covid pandemic, with special impetus on Buddhist sites across the country.
A senior Tourism ministry official said the central government is taking a number of initiatives such as construction of a new international airport in Kushinagar and operation of Special Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train to woo tourists in this circuit.
Promotion of tourist places falling in the Buddhist circuit is a priority of the central government because in pre-Covid era, the country used to get nearly six lakhs tourists from around 13 Buddhist nations, the senior official said.
To get back the tourists it lost due to the pandemic in this circuit, the tourism ministry is also taking a number of steps that includes installing signages at tourist sites in Singhalese and Chinese languages and plans to provide free visas.
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Union Tourism Secretary, Arvind Singh, said, "As things are now returning on track slowly, our aim is to get back to pre-Covid levels (in terms of number of Buddhist tourists coming to India) as soon as possible in a year.
"We will also offer free visa to first five lakh tourists coming to India after travel restrictions are eased," Singh told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised for promotion of Buddhist tourist sites.
He said,"The International Airport in Kushinagar will be inaugurated (by Prime Minister Narendra Modi) this month. Ambassadors of Buddhist countries along with Buddhist circuit tour operators will also be present at the event. This will be a big boost to the Buddhist tourism in the country."
He added that India will also do sustainable campaigns in foreign countries with special focus on Buddhist countries to attract foreign tourists.
Union Home Ministry on Thursday announced that India has decided to allow foreign tourists into the country, beginning with granting tourist visas to those travelling by chartered flights from October 15 and those by regular planes from November 15.
With this, the restrictions placed on visa and international travel since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic stand further eased given the present overall pandemic situation.
According to tourism ministry officials, over six lakh Buddhist tourists used to visit India annually before the pandemic from countries, including Japan, Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia among others.
To establish a local connect with foreign tourists especially from Sri Lanka and China, the government has set up signages in Singhalese and Chinese languages at prominent Buddhist sites such as Sarnath and Bodh Gaya, they said.
Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNAR, G Kishan Reddy said Buddhism originated in ancient India about 2,500 years ago and there are lots of places connected to Lord Buddha in India.
"We have a lot to offer in terms of Buddhist Tourism and the government will provide all necessary facilities. We aim to improve the tourism and pilgrimage experience of Buddhist tourists.
"On the occasion of 75th anniversary of Indian independence, we pledge to make India the number one country in terms of tourism," Reddy said in his virtual address at an event organised in Varanasi to promote Buddhist Circuit Tourism.
Uttar Pradesh's State Minister (Independent Charge) Tourism and Culture, Neelkanth Tiwari said the state has six Buddhist tourist sites that are very important -- Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shrawasti, Sankisa, Kapilvastu and Kaushambi.
"Maximum foreign tourists can be tapped through Buddhist Circuit in UP and Bihar. Development of these Buddhist sites is a priority of central as well as the state government," Tiwari said.
According to Tourism and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) officials, a special Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train was also started before the pandemic to attract tourists but its operations were halted due to the pandemic.
The last Buddhist Circuit special train ran in February 2020 before the pandemic.
"We expect to restart the Buddhist Circuit special train as soon as travel restrictions for foreigner tourists normalise," a senior IRCTC official said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)