Union Tourism Minister Shri Subodh Kant Sahai has said that tourist from
countries having sizable Buddhist population such as Thailand and Malaysia
would be provided the facility of Visa on Arrival ( VOA). Inaugurating a two
day International Buddhist Conclave at Varanasi today, he said his Ministry had
also decided to develop a Ghat in the temple town Varanasi in the name of Lord
Buddha on the bank of river Ganga. He said his Ministry had adopted a Keep
India Clean Mission to keep clean the cities particularly tourist places across
the country to attract maximum tourists. The Minister appealed to the State
Governments to take initiatives for the success this Mission. He assured full
cooperation of his Ministry to the state Government local administration to
keep the holy city of Varanasi clean.
Shri Sahai said India being the land of origin of Buddhism, is the main
attraction for the Buddhist tourists from across the globe. He said his
Ministry is drawing up plans to to attract more tourists from Buddhist countries
by providing them special facilities. Buddhism being a world religion now, its
sites have a great attraction for tourists’ world over. The Ministry of Tourism
is continuing with its efforts in identifying more and more Buddhist Circuits
and developing them in holistic and integrated manner.
Shri Sahai announced that his Ministry has identified three circuits to be
developed as part of Buddhist Circuits during the 12th Five Year Plan.they are:Circuit
1: The Dharmayatra or the Sacred Circuit - This
will be a 5 to 7 days circuit and will include visits to Gaya (Bodhgaya),
Varanasi (Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva ( Kapilvastu) with a day trip to
Lumbini in Nepal.Circuit 2: Extended Dharmayatra or
Extended Sacred Circuit or Retracing Buddha’s Footsteps - This will be a 10 to
15 days circuit and will include visit to Bodhgaya (Nalanda, Rajgir, Barabar
caves, Pragbodhi Hill, Gaya), Patna (Vaishali, Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya
Ariraj, Kesariya, Patna Museum), Varanasi(Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu,
Shravasti, Saniska) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal.Circuit 3: Buddhist Heritage Trails
State Circuits- Jammu and Kashmir - Ladakh, Srinagar and Jammu; Himachal
Pradesh - Dharamshala, Spiti, Kinnaur and Lahaul. Shri Sahai expressed the hope
that deliberations at the conclave would help us to carry on this process of
identifying and developing more Buddhist circuits.
The Tourism Minister said that tourism today is being looked upon as a driver
of economic growth. India too has seen rapid development in tourism over the
last few years apart from promoting our rich heritage and culture and its
diversity. He said during 12th Five Year Plan period we have identified around
35 major integrated circuits and destinations having potential to attract a large
number of tourists. It is proposed to develop around 20 tourism parks on the
lines of Sentosa Islands in Singapore
The conclave is being held with a view to showcasing and projecting the
Buddhist Heritage of India. The delegates at the conclave include the
International Buddhist scholars, tour operators and media both domestic and
international who actively promote Buddhist Tourism. About 130 Overseas guests
including Buddhist Scholars/Tour Operators and Media representatives
(mainstream media and travel journalists) from 30 countries including
Australia,Belgium,Bhutan,Cambodia,Canada,China,France,Holland,Hungary,Indonesia,Italy,Japan,laos,Malaysia,Myanmar,New
Zealand, Phillipines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, South Africa,
Spain, Sri lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam are attending the
conclave. More than one hundred Indian Tour Operators, Scholars, Media
personnel from 16 States/UTs including Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha
and Bihar are also attending the Conclave.
The Conclave is an important tourism marketing event designed to bring together
international buyers from around the world particularly from the popular
Buddhist destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, China etc.
together, to interact, promote and sell, with the objective of increasing
tourist arrivals to India and specifically to the Buddhist sites in different
states.
The Conclave sessions include Technical sessions on Buddhism for scholars, and
travel and Tourism sessions for the media and Tour operators. The delegates
will also be taken for site visits to Bodh Gaya and Nalanda. The International
Buddhist Conclave in India is being organized after a period of two years. The
last Conclave was organized in Nalanda in February 2010.
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