It has been observed religion/Spiritualism is the main purpose of
travel, but untapped markets remain
As per a survey conducted by
International Finance corporation in this sector
• 72%
of international tourists, and 60% of domestic, traveled to the Buddhist
Circuit for spiritual/religious reasons.
• 6o%
of international tourists came from countries where Buddhism is historically a
dominant religion.
• Increasing
influx of tourists from non-Buddhist countries. More North Americans (51%) said
they were religious tourists than Japanese (44%) or Chinese (49%).
• Very
few domestic visitors from outside UP & Bihar.
Temples, historical relic’s main attraction while results also
indicate interest in other activities
• Most popular activities
were visiting temples/stupas, and offering prayers followed by visiting museums
and historical relics – regardless of the primary purpose of travel.
• 40% of international
tourists engaged in visiting villages and attending festivals
Patterns of Travel: Extended length of stay, good potential for
repeat travel
• 85% of international tourists
visit the entire Circuit Main entry points: Bodhgaya (49%) and Sarnath (32%)
• International tourists stay
between 5 to 13 days, versus 2 to 10 days for domestic tourists.
• 25% of international and
38% of domestic travelers was repeat visitors. The highest incidence of repeat
travel (30%) was from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan and Myanmar.
Package tours overwhelmingly popular for international visitors
• 69% international tourists
liked to plan their travel Sarnath & Bodhgaya exhibit a different trend,
where 54% and 42% respectively had no prior booking
• 31% of international
tourists travel without prior booking.
• Among package tourists,
Japanese tend to stay longer; among independent tourists, Burmese and Thais do.
• The Internet (32%) is the
main source of awareness for international tourists. Other important sources
are travel literature (31%) and word of mouth (28%)
• Word of mouth is the main
source of awareness for domestic tourists (56%), followed by travel literature
(25%) and newspapers (21%).
Sub-circuit within the Buddhist Circuit: Sarnath Kushinagar
• Majority of foreign
tourists in Sarnath come from Western countries as compared to other sites, where
most of the tourists come from Buddhist countries.
• Tourists
in Sarnath leisure and entertainment as primary motivation for their visit.
• Most tourists traveled
independently to Sarnath while Kushinagar is mostly visited on packaged tours.
• Repeat
travel is lowest in Sarnath and highest in Kushinagar among all the sites.
• Visitors to Kushinagar also
visited Sarnath. A visit to Sarnath does not necessarily indicate a trip to
Kushinagar.
Sub-circuit within the Buddhist Circuit: Bodhgaya – Nalanda – Rajgir
• Budhgaya receives only a
small percentage of package tourists as compared to Rajgir and Nalanda. Rajgir
only site which heavily on tour operators for awareness.
• Rajgir & Nalanda falls
under middle of the trip category whereby 56% of domestic tourists and 70% of
foreign tourists visit the sites in the middle of their trip. 58% of all
tourists visit only Bodhgaya.
• Most of the domestic in
Rajgir and Nalanda come from nearby cities
Service Quality Issues among Tourists
Most Satisfactory Parameters Unsatisfactory
Parameters
• Friendliness of the people
Availability of medical facilities
• Personal safety Sanitation
• Access to temples Facilities for children
• Accessibility of historical
heritage sites Quality
of roads Convenience and access to local
transport
Apart from this, International Tourists were found to be less
satisfied/ dissatisfied with additional parameters
Less Satisfactory Parameters Unsatisfactory Parameters
• Interpretation/Signage at Temples Availability and quality of local transport
• Interpretation of historical
heritage sites Visitors
information Telecommunication
• Availability of national cuisine Shopping opportunities
Some hypotheses for discussion – need for further testing
• The
Unique Selling Proposition of the Buddhist Circuit is unquestionably spiritual;
potential to focus on activities that enhance the spiritual/religious
experience.
• Aside
from the pull of Bodh Gaya, there may be considerable potential for Sarnath
as a gateway to the Buddhist Circuit, especially for non-Buddhist visitors.
• Travelers cite frustrations
with the practicalities of road and rail travel
• East and Southeast Asia are
the main international markets, but there are other niche markets (e.g.
North Americans/Europeans on a spiritual journey)
• The Buddhist
Circuit holds significant potential for visits of the long duration and
repeat travel.