The Ministry of Tourism regularly promotes diverse tourist destinations and experiences of India including Buddhist sites through various initiatives including promotional events, participation in travel exhibitions and fairs in domestic and international markets familiarization (FAM) tours, influencers programmes, assistance to State Governments/Union Territories for organizing fairs and festivals, website, amplification through social media handles etc. Further, the Ministry under its Schemes of Swadesh Darshan, Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD), Assistance to Central Agencies (ACA), Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD) and Special Assistance to States/Union Territories for Capital Investment (SASCI) has sanctioned several projects to develop tourism infrastructure and amenities, in the country including Buddhist tourism sites. The details of tourist footfall in Siddharthnagar district during the last five years are as follows: Year DTVs FTVs Total 2025 (Provisional) 195941 23341 219282 2024 100595 17546 118141 2023 392516 11797 404313 2022 222289 109 222398 2021 370975 90 371065 Total 12,82,316 52,883 13,35,199 *DTVs - Domestic Tourist Visits / FTVs – Foreign Tourist Visits The Government has taken significant steps to improve connectivity (road, air and rail connectivity) across Buddhist cultural and heritage sites in the country including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Lumbini in Nepal is connected to Siddharthnagar in India through NH-233.
The Ministry of Railways also operates theme based tourist circuit trains covering Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Lumbini and Sharavasti.
The Ministry of Tourism regularly engages with neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Thailand under the framework of international tourism cooperation, with a focus on promoting tourism including Buddhist tourism. This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today *** M Annad