By 2021-22, infrastructure development is slated to be completed in Shravasti, Kushinagar and Kapilvastu under the projects listed for Uttar Pradesh Buddhist Circuit
India is where Buddhism originated, and seven of the eight main Buddhist pilgrimage sites are in this country but surprisingly, Buddhist pilgrims worldwide throng Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and Thailand.
The Tourism Ministry has zeroed in on lack of infrastructure and awareness as the prime reasons behind this situation and has now decided to offer world-class facilities to lure these tourists to India.
These sites in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Viashali, Sarnath, Shravasti, Kushinagar, Kaushambi, Sankisa and Kapilavastu, when developed, will not only add to revenue but also help generate employment.
Under the Buddhist Circuit project announced in 2016, Rs 278 crore has already been released of the Rs 343 crore that has been sanctioned under various schemes by the Ministry of Tourism.
The Ministry also organises linguistic tourist facilitator training in Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese languages. So far, 525 people have been trained in these languages between 2018 to 2020. The aim is to train 600 more till 2023
To further boost the prospects, a Cultural Centre at Bodh Gaya is underway as approximately six per cent of nationwide foreign tourist arrivals are for Sarnath and Bodh Gaya.
By 2021-22, infrastructure development is slated to be completed in Shravasti, Kushinagar and Kapilvastu under the projects listed for Uttar Pradesh Buddhist Circuit. Tourists going to Varanasi are now able to enjoy the sound and light show at Dhamek Stupa, while there is a Buddha Theme Park at Sarnath that tourists love going to. Both of these that are the major attractions of this area are together worth Rs 9.5 crore.
While helicopter services and international connectivity under the UDAN scheme are envisaged, to further tempt tourists, the Buddhist circuit that has four international and two domestic airports, now has two more coming up soon. A total of 88 pairs of trains have been connected from Gaya to New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Varanasi, while Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, Lucknow and Gorakhpur have been upgraded. Talks are also on with domestic tour operators to sell the entire circuit to groups of travellers, rather than just the India part.
The Ministry also organises linguistic tourist facilitator training in Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese languages. So far, 525 people have been trained in these languages between 2018 to 2020. The aim is to train 600 more till 2023.
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