Stalled Buddhist Circuit: E-visas for China matters little given state of Indian tourism

New Delhi: The Year 2015 is being observed as ‘Visit India Year’ in China. In turn, 2016 will be ‘Visit China Year’ in India. With this in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in China on Friday that India would grant e-visas to Chinese tourists.

The measure has been taken to boost India’s tourism sector, keeping Chinese Buddhist tourists in mind, as India is a major Buddhist destination and also the land where Buddhism was born.

But, will India actually be able to attract the large chunk of Buddhist tourists from China?

In 2014, 1.70 lakh Buddhist tourists visited India, which is not a high number compared to the Buddhist population across the globe. China alone has nearly 300 million Buddhists. A big stumbling block is the state of Indian tourism.

India’s ambitious ‘Buddhist Circuit’ initiative was conceived to connect all major Buddhist destinations across India though a network providing best facilities for domestic as well as foreign tourists. According to a study conducted by the IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and a report submitted thereafter to the Ministry of Tourism, 12 states were identified as destinations having major Buddhist sites, and five others as minor sites.

“The Buddhist cultural heritage has a long and special history that dates back more than 2,500 years and actually unites most of South, South-East and East Asia. The influence of Buddhism can be seen across all Asian countries in terms of history and culture. Buddhist Circuit could be a major tourist attraction not only for the Chinese, but millions of Buddhists living across the globe,” said an expert, who had been a part of the team that prepared the report.

Prof Sreemati Chakrabarti, head of East Asian Studies, Delhi University said, “Buddhist Circuit is of immense importance for the Buddhists and others as well. It should be developed to attract the large chunk of Buddhist tourists from China and other countries. At present, Buddhist institution in China is close to the Communist Party unlike in the past. Now, people in China are free to display their religious sentiments and talk about it. Right now, not many tourists are coming to India. If, India is successful in developing the circuit, it will not only boost Indian tourism, but help in building India-China relationship to some extent.”

The study report also discussed at length the infrastructure needs of the Buddhist Circuit. The study has identified infrastructure gaps in various Buddhist locations in the country, such as road, rail, drinking water, electricity supply, public utilities, bank ATMs, foreign exchange facility, hotel accommodation (premium and budget hotels), parking facilities, trained tourist guides and security.

A Ministry of Tourism official on condition of anonymity said, “India and China are exploring possibilities of establishing a Buddhist Circuit along with Sri Lanka and Nepal for Chinese tourists. It’s not just about Nalanda, Sanchi or Dharamshala, there are many other attractive Buddhist locations, which could be of major attraction. But sooner, the circuit gets developed, better it would be for India’s tourism industry.”

Prof Alka Acharya, director of ICS added, “India should focus on Buddhist Circuit to boost tourism and forge cultural ties. First, India needs to have the infrastructure for this circuit in place, followed by issues like safety, security, proper connectivity between the locations, etc. Visa-on-arrival for Chinese tourists will be helpful.”

“India should take opportunity of the Year 2015 and Year 2016 meant to ‘Visit India’ and ‘Visit China’ respectively through India’s Buddhist base, which is the cornerstone of our country. This will help India earn Forex. The PM is using soft diplomacy wherever he’s visiting. So, India should leverage this opportunity to catapult people-to-people relation between India and China,” said Aravind Yelery, associate fellow at New Delhi-based think-tank Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS).