The Ministry of tourism fears that the serial bomb blasts that rocked Bodh Gaya on Sunday may hit international tourist footfalls along the Buddhist tourism circuit in a big way.
In the past decade, ministries of tourism and culture with Japanese assistance have pumped in over `1,000 crore to develop the Buddhist Tourist circuit including Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and Rajgir in Bihar.
The circuit figures among the top 45 mega tourist destinations in the country. It alone is responsible for pushing Bihar to the eighth position, ahead of Goa and Himachal Pradesh, on Foreign Tourist Arrivals.
“I am worried that this unfortunate incident (serial bombings) may affect foreign tourist footfalls in the region. I understand that the shrine estimated to be built between 5th and 6th century AD is the holiest pilgrimage for Buddhists from world over,” said K Chiranjeevi, minister of tourism. The ministry has sought an immediate report from the Bihar’s department of tourism on the damage caused.
Bodh Gaya, recognised by the UNESCO as the world heritage site alone gets the largest share of the pie, with over 6.5 lakh tourists visiting Bihar every year. According to State tourism records, Bodh Gaya receives tourist footfalls all year round, but the peak season starts in late October, with the onset of winter and proceeds till the end of March. The Bodh Gaya airport receives anywhere between 14,000-15,000 foreign tourists every month during the peak season. This figure does not include tourists coming by road and rail.
Since October- November 2011, Myanmar Airways International, Myanmar Airways, Thai Airways, Mihin lanka and Druk Air of Bhutan have started flying into Bodh Gaya airport, which is built over 954 acres, as compared to the Patna airport, built on 254 acres.
A whopping `11-17 crore is transacted in the foreign currency exchange facility of the State Bank of India Bodh Gaya branch every year. Even the private money exchangers say that foreign exchanges are over `100 crore every season.