Minister Pandey inaugurates BITM, pledges to establish Nepal as centre for Buddhism, spiritual tourism

KATHMANDU: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey has pledged to establish Nepal as a centre for Buddhism and spiritual tourism.

Speaking at the inauguration of the third Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM), organised by the Nepal Tourism Board in association with the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) in Kathmandu today, Minister Pandey reaffirmed the government's commitment to promoting Buddhist cultural heritage and attracting spiritual tourists. He urged officials to spread the message of peace that originated in Buddha's birthplace, Lumbini, and noted that priority has been given to promoting Buddhist tourism via major circuits including Kapilvastu, Ramgram, Devdaha and Tilaurakot. He also revealed plans to establish Lumbini as the International City of Peace.

Minister Pandey highlighted efforts to operate regular flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport in order to support Buddhist tourism, and emphasised the need to improve road network access in the province housing the birthplace of Lord Buddha. He noted that there is ongoing dialogue with UNESCO representatives to prevent Lumbini from being placed on the endangered list and informed tourism entrepreneurs of initiatives to include Tilaurakot in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

Koshi Province’s Minister for Industry, Tourism and Environment Sadananda Mandal stated that infrastructure development is a high priority for the provincial government, while Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) CEO Deepak Raj Joshi remarked that Nepal is not only a tourist destination but also a starting point for a spiritual journey of peace. He acknowledged the importance of such programmes in re-establishing Nepal as a centre for Buddhist tourism.

NATTA President Kumar Mani Thapaliya, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Lumbini Development Trust’s Vice Chairman Dr Lharkyal Lama (Khenpo Chimed) expressed their confidence that the three-day event will benefit Nepal's tourism promotion. On the occasion, Minister Pandey honoured former NATTA presidents CN Pandey, Achyut Guragain and Ramesh Thapa, and a souvenir was unveiled at the event. 

More than 100 tourism entrepreneurs from Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Bhutan, among others, are participating in the event.