Himachal Industry wants Buddhist circuit revived

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, February 19

Reeling under heavy losses, the hotel and tourism industry in Himachal has urged the government to revive the Buddhist tourist circuit in the Kangra region.

HP Monasteries shut since Covid outbreak

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• The Kangra region has about 50 monasteries, including Tsuglagkhang (the Dalai Lama temple)
• Before Covid outbreak, 80,000 to 1 lakh foreign tourists visited Dharamsala annually. In the past two years, footfall has come to a naught

With monasteries in the state closed for the past two years due to the pandemic, the industry has taken a severe hit. Buddhist tourists were the lifeline of tourism in the region, especially Dharamsala, say stakeholders.

Ashwani Bamba, president of the Upper Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has been urged to open the monasteries but it is unwilling to do so due to the pandemic. Buddhist tourists from across the globe visited the region round the year before the pandemic.

The teachings of Dalai Lama which attracted a number of tourists to Dharamsala have also gone online now. The stakeholders have appealed to both the CTA and the government to organise events to promote Dharamsala as a destination for Buddhist tourists.