Nearly 1.2 million tourists visited Lumbini in 2024

BHAIRAHAWA, Jan 09:In 2024, Lumbini welcomed 1.172 million tourists, including domestic, foreign, and Indian visitors. According to the Lumbini Development Trust, the number of all categories of tourists visiting Lumbini in 2024 climbed by 1,73,000 over the previous year, 2023. Lumbini has had the biggest number of tourists since Covid-19.

In 2019, a total of 15,58,326 tourists visited Buddha's birthplace. Since then, the number of tourists visiting Lumbini reached around 1.2 million for the first time, according to Haridhwaj Rai, the Trust's Information Officer.  "The number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting Lumbini for the first time after Covid has reached close to 1.2 million," according to Rai. The arrival of Indian tourists in 2024 has established a new milestone. This year, 3,00,889 Indians visited Lumbini. In 2023, 2,66,000 Indians visited Lumbini.

Although 2,06, 000 tourists visited Lumbini prior to Covid, Indian tourists arrived in numbers less than 2 lakh the year before. Lumbini received 114,425 tourists from third countries in 2024. The number of tourists from third nations increased by 46.36 percent over the previous year. In 2023, 76,210 international tourists from third countries came to Lumbini. According to the Trust, 174,000 third-country tourists visited Lumbini in 2019 before Covid.

The largest number of third-country tourists visiting Lumbini in 2024 will be from Sri Lanka. The Trust said that 23,569 people visited Sri Lanka last year. Similarly, 21,496 people traveled to Lumbini from Thailand, and 13,120 from China. According to the Lumbini Development Trust, 10,517 people arrived from Myanmar, 8,500 from Vietnam, and 4,646 from South Korea.

In 2024, 759,990 domestic tourists visited Lumbini. Domestic tourists have climbed by 15.81 percent over the previous year. However, domestic tourist visits have failed to increase in comparison to pre-Covid levels. Before Covid, Lumbini received 1.25 million domestic tourists in 2017. In both 2018 and 2019, 1.15 million domestic tourists came to Lumbini. "Due to the road network and the recent economic slowdown, domestic tourists have not been able to increase as much as they would like," according to Rai.

Almost all tourists that visit Lumbini, with the exception of Chinese, pass through the international border point of Bhairahawa. Their primary stops in Lumbini are the Mayadevi Temple, archeological sites, Ashoka Pillar, Pushkarani Kunda, Central Canal, World Peace stupa , Big Bell, and Buddhist monasteries established by many countries. Even though the number of tourists in Lumbini has increased, tourism operators have not benefited because the length of tourist stays has not increased. The rise in tourist visits is attributed to the increased number of spiritual events in Lumbini this year.