Modi visit boosts religious tourism

KATHMANDU, Nov 22

The area visited by Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi creates headlines across the world, and more so in India. There are tens of millions fans in India. Those who used to idolize cricketers and film stars have now become his fans. Arrival of Indians in Nepal has increased drastically after the Nepal visit of Modi in August.  

The biggest effect of Modi’s visit has been on religious tourism. Arrival of Indians to visit Pashupatinath Temple has doubled following Modi’s worship, according to Member Secretary of the Pashuapti Area Development Trust (PADT) Govinda Tandon. More than 12,000 Indians visit Pashupati a day after September, according to him. It was around 7,000 before that. He says many Indians want to offer special Puja at Pashupati like Modi did. Tourism entrepreneurs say overall arrival of Indians has increased significantly even though the Department of Immigration and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) do not have exact data on that. Indians still constitute most of the tourists visiting Nepal by air or land. Occupancy at hotels near Pashupati has increased while new hotels are being constructed in the area with the rise in arrival of Indians in Pashupati.

Indian hotel chain Mirage Lords Inn, that has 26 hotels in India, has recently opened a hotel at Battisputali. “Arrival of Indian tourists has increased following Modi’s visit. Travel agencies have also reported a rise in booking,” Market Manager of Mirage Lords Bijendra Bhakta Bhaju says. Tandon attributes the rise in arrival of Indian pilgrims to the massive coverage of Modi’s Pashupati visit in the Indian media. “Many Indians now want to take the path Modi took to worship at Pashupati. Most of the Indians used to come at around Shivaratri but all that has changed after the visit of Modi. I have never before seen such a crowd,” he reveals. He says many Indians had come even when Indian Central Minister Nitin Gadkari came to Nepal a few weeks ago.

“The number of tourists from Maharashtra is very big. This has sent a positive vibe to the tourism sector in Nepal. The number of elderly is high among the Indian tourists,” President of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) and Managing Director of the three-star Airport Hotel Binayak Shah says. Public Relations Officer at Hyatt Regency, where Modi resided during his visit, says flow of Indian guests has increased in the hotel following Modi’s visit. “Indians did not have positive view about Nepal and Nepalis earlier. But Modi’s visit has changed that. They have now showed interest to visit Nepal,” President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents (NATTA) DB Limbu says.  

This visit will add a new dimension

Tourism entrepreneurs hope that the Nepali tourism industry will take a huge leap following visit of Janakpur, Lumbini and Mustang by Indian PM Modi, and visit of other leaders from the SAARC countries. Modi will be visiting all three places on a chopper on Tuesday and they hope a massive rise in flow of Indian tourists there after his visit. “This visit of Modi is certain to have a positive impact on Nepal’s tourism. All three places will be advertized across the world after Modi’s visit and everybody will be curious to visit the places. This will ensure that not just the Indians but people from even other countries will visit the places,” HAN general secretary Shah says. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will also be visiting Lumbini.

NATTA president Limbu feels that Modi’s visit of the religious sites will promote those places for free and can significantly boost tourism. “This will have a long-lasting influence on Indians,” he claims.

A total of 180,974 Indians have visited Nepal in 2013. It was 165,815 in 2012 and 149,504 in 2011. Indians are considered to be high-spending in comparison to Chinese tourists.