India tourism can now aggressively promote another Golden triangle , the ‘’Buddha Trail Triangle’’ ( a Mini Buddhist Circuit ) comprising Bodh Gaya , Sarnath and Kushinagar , as all the three world famous destinations, having Buddha’s footsteps, are now connected with international airports.
The good news is that DGCA, a few days ago, has issued license for allowing operations of commercial flights from the new Kushinagar International Airport.
Bodh Gaya and Sarnath ( Varanasi Airport), already have International Airports. The State tourism departments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar , the airline operators ,the travel trade and the hospitality industry must make all possible efforts to draw mileage from the airport infrastructure and air connectivity at the three globally renowned destinations.
Buddhist tourism in India, is not for religious tourism alone, for international travellers arriving from Buddhist countries.
The ‘philosophy’ and ‘teachings’ of Lord Buddha is also the fountainhead of heritage, spiritual and education tourism, that can be a great attraction for domestic travellers of our country too.
Today , with domestic tourism being in focus of all tourism stakeholders and ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ as the flagship campaign of Ministry of Tourism , it would be a good idea to promote this ‘triangle’ ,now having an end -to -end air connectivity, for domestic tourists ,particularly as a weekend / extended weekend getaway for domestic tourists.
I too look forward to visiting Parinirvana Stupa Mandir at Kushinagar, where I could not visit earlier, because of no air connectivity.
