World News | Nepal's Lumbini Missed Thousands of Indian Tourists This Year Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha is missing tourists this year due to the global pandemic situation. Otherwise, thousands of Indians visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site annually.
Lumbini [Nepal], August 20 (ANI): Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha is missing tourists this year due to the global pandemic situation. Otherwise, thousands of Indians visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site annually.
"The number of Indian tourists (in Lumbini) stood at 93,852 last year while domestic tourists were 680,206. Around 86,531 tourists from other countries also had visited the site. Now it's entirely silent," said Gyanin Rai, Member Secretary at Lumbini Development Trust.
"Tourists used to throng the area for family tours, annual closing celebration and many other occasions mainly between January to July every year. Businesses use to boom mostly at that time but now it is all silent. We all miss them. Our revenue also has slumped due to this COVID-19 crisis," Rai added.
Rupandehi, which lies in the southern plains of Nepal is connected with India. Thousands of tourists enter via various entry points established in between the two nations without requiring any sort of documents.
The tourism places of Nepali districts adjoining India have been relying on tourists coming from the southern neighbour. Last year, Nepal had welcomed 209,611 Indian tourists out of a total arrival of 1.17 million tourists. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)