Kushinagar International Airport has expectations soaring

Tourism & hospitality sectors set to boom in UP after opening of airport

*Inbound tourism likely to increase by 15 percent with the opening of airport

Delhi/Lucknow, October 18:

Expectations are running high as the Kushinagar International Airport is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 20.

On the one hand, the airport will provide direct air connectivity with South Asian countries making it easier for tourists, especially Buddhist pilgrims, to complete their visit of the Buddhist circuit in India, while on the other it will boost the tourism and hospitality sectors, opening up job opportunities in plenty for the youth in these sectors.

With the opening of this airport, travellers from Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam will be able to visit easily Sarnath, Shravasti, Bodh Gaya, Lumbini, Vaishali, Rajgir, Kesariya and Sankisa in considerably lesser time.

Besides, it will lead to the growth of tourism in Purvanchal region, paving way for products of the region to get global recognition.

The inflow of international tourists as well as outbound tourism are expected to increase by 15 to 20 percent in the coming years, because of the strategic location of the Kushinagar International Airport near Buddhist sites in both Uttar Pradesh and north Bihar.

Earlier, the entry point for the Buddhist Tourists in India were Kolkata, Delhi, Gaya & later Varanasi, which are situated far away from one another. Besides, due to lack of air connectivity, it was time taking and most tourists could not even think of completing the circuit in one go. Now, with the opening of Kushinagar Airport foreign tourists can complete their pilgrimage in considerably less time.

Spread over an area of 590 acres, the International airport at Kushinagar boasts of world-class facilities. The eight-storied state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower built at the cost of Rs 17.5 crore, has become fully operational at the airport whereas the navigation system for safe landing and take off of flights at the airport has passed the trial successfully. The Kushinagar International Airport boasts of having the state’s largest runway with a length of 3200 metres and width of 45 metres.

Meanwhile, a large workforce is being trained to enhance tourists’ experience under the Ministry of Tourism’s Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Programme.

According to tourism industry experts, the Kushinagar International Airport will give a fillip to the development of Eastern UP with aviation, tourism and hospitality industries set to boom.

The Buddhist circuit in India, including sites located largely in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are a big draw for Buddhist pilgrims, particularly from East Asia and South-East-Asia. However, the flow of tourists has severely been affected lately due to a novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to the data of the Bureau of Immigration, Kushinagar received 8.98 lakh, 9.3 lakh, 9.7 lakh and 10.96 lakh tourists in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively, which dropped to 3.23 lakh tourists in 2020 due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Similarly, Shravasti received 2.2 lakh, 2.58 lakh, 11.32 lakh and 12.71 lakh in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively, which dipped to mere 0.17 lakh in 2020.

The data further reveals that India received 339442 tourists from China, 334579 from Malaysia, 238903 from Japan and 190089 tourists from Singapore, which dropped to 39586, 69897, 48191 and 33747 in 2020 respectively due to the pandemic.

Prominent among the countries from where India receives maximum Buddhist tourists include Sri Lanka, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia.