Tourism sector leaders say the
birthplace of Buddhism could attract many Thai pilgrims and tourists,
but New Delhi needs to clean up its act first
Bangkok, Thailand -- Thai tour operators view
Buddhist tourism in India as a potential boom market if the country's
Ministry of Tourism improves tourist facilities in destinations that are
of interest to Thai-Buddhist tourists.
At the second International Buddhist Conclave held in Varanasi at the
end of last month, Thai tourist operators highlighted problems that
needed to be addressed. Among these were the relatively tight
immigration laws, shortcomings in public infrastructure and the quality
of food and hotels.
The conclave was held to showcase India's Buddhist heritage in order to attract Buddhist pilgrims and tourists around the world.
Sarnath, a deer park northeast of the holy city of Varanasi, is where
Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment,
more than 2,500 years ago.
Kushinagar, a principal centre of the Buddhist pilgrimage, is where
Lord Buddha left his corporeal self and attained Mahaparinirvana.
Supriya Boonyagate, a tour operator with Two by Four Travel Ltd, has
promoted Thai-Buddhist pilgrimages to India for more than a decade. She
said she has has submitted a three-point proposal to the Ministry of
Tourism of India. First, she said the Indian government should abolish
its immigration policy, which is too tight and undermines opportunities
for Thai tour operators to bring tourists to visit Buddhist destinations
in India.
Ms Supriya was referring to an Indian immigration regulation which
prevents foreigners from returning to the country within two months of a
previous trip.
"This immigration regulation has become a growing headache for all
Thai tour operators who can't send their experienced Thai tourist guides
to lead new groups of Thai-Buddhist pilgrims and tourists if those
guides have made a previous trip to India within the past two months,"
she said.
Second, the Indian government should improve its highways in areas
housing major Buddhist tourist attractions to ease the currently
time-consuming travel experience.
For example, Ms Supriya said, the 300km highway linking Varanasi with Kushinagar should be extended and paved with asphalt.
"It takes us about seven to eight hours [to make the trip] which is
really incredible," she said. "And many more public toilets need to be
built along a Buddhist tourist trail."
Finally, Ms Supriya said she wanted India to improve the quality of food and hotels in Buddhist destinations.
There needs to be a variety of international food on offer, she said,
because most Thais will not be able to eat Indian food every day.
Nuanchan Pientam, chairwoman of NC Tour and Enterprise Co Ltd, said
she also submitted a letter addressing problems faced by Thai tourists
to Shri Subodh Kant Sahai, India's tourism minister.
Ms Nuanchan, who has operated Thai-Buddhist pilgrimage tours to India
for more than three decades, said she wanted Indian authorities to take
action to promote the sector, especially in relation to Buddhist
attractions in the subcontinent.
She said India needed to improve the condition of its national
highways in Buddhist destinations and also needed to install public
toilets that adhere to international standards.
She said there are also few trains and limited seats available during
the peak tourism season between October to March, so she wanted India
to provide more trains with more seats for Thai-Buddhist pilgrims and
tourists.
"We believe many more Thai-Buddhist pilgrims and tourists will visit India if the country acts on our proposals," she said.
Mr Sahai, the tourism chief, said the origins of Buddhism are in
India and the country is the main attraction for Buddhist tourists from
around the world.
Mr Sahai said his ministry is drawing up plans to attract more
tourists from Buddhist countries by providing them with special
facilities.
He said India has tried to improve its public infrastructure by
building roads and airports that can better promote the travel of
Buddhist tourists from around the world.
"Buddhism is a world religion now, so its sites hold a great
attraction for tourists from the world over. The Ministry of Tourism is
continuing with its efforts to identify more Buddhist tourist circuits
and develop them in holistic and integrated manner," he said.
To promote Buddhist tourism in India, tourists from countries which
have a large Buddhist population, such as Thailand and Malaysia, will
soon be provided with the option of getting a visa on arrival, he said.
He said the Ministry of Tourism plans to develop a ghat [set of
stairs descending into a river] on the bank of the Ganges River in the
holy city of Varanasi in the name of Lord Buddha, and he pledged to keep
Varanasi and the river clean.
The International Buddhist Conclave in India is being held after two years. The last conclave was held in 2010.
