Themed ‘Bihar Calling: Conference on Tourism, Heritage & Hospitality’, the conference saw the presence of noted personalities such as Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar; Sunil Kumar Pintu, the then Tourism Minister of Bihar; Sukhda Pandey, Minister, Department of Arts, Youth & Culture, Government of Bihar; Girish Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; Mihir Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Bihar and Praveen Kishore, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Bihar; among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Pintu said that visitors should have ‘homelike feeling in Bihar’. “Our tourists should become our brand ambassadors as the motto of Bihar tourism is “Atithya dil se,” he said. Pandey pitched for better coordination between her department and tourism department and gave several examples such as “Bawanbooti” art of Biharsharif and Tharu culture that could be promoted to boost tourism in the state.
Shankar, while highlighting the current state of affairs of the Indian tourism industry, said that Bihar holds a very important position as it has association of five religious circuits of country. “We need to frame the workable options for the development of the tourism industry in the state,” he said and emphasized on the development of Golf courses at tourist spots like Boghgaya to prolong the stay of foreign tourists in Bihar. He announced that an international convention center will be developed at Bodhgaya with the investment of Rs 250 crores.
Mihir Kumar Singh said that Bihar is poised to capture the promise of travel and tourism and become most sought after destination. “Bihar offers unparalleled spiritual products and the tourism industry has a huge scope here,” he said and discussed the state government’s plans and policies to boost tourism sector in Bihar. He also highlighted about the ongoing projects and forthcoming plans under all the circuits and destinations.
Speaking at the valedictory session of the conference, the Chief Minister said, “Right now, tourists are coming on their own but once the development ball sets rolling, there would be a lot of competition in the market and you should make full use of the opportunity now.” He cited the Union government report that over 11 lakh foreign tourists visited the state last year compared to only 94,000 in 2006. The CM said over 50 lakh visitors are expected in the state to celebrate 350 years of Takht Sri Harmandirji at Patna Saheb in 2016 and the state had sought funds from the Centre to facilitate the event. He announced the development of an international standard museum in Patna, development of a large stupa and museum in Vaishali and re-start of excavation work of Balrajgarh area of Madhubani and Opening of an International University in Nalanda.
SESSION I : Religious- Cultural Heritage of Bihar and Its Tourism Prospects
The session was chaired by Sukhda Pandey and participants were Benoy Behl, Buddhist Scholar and Film Maker; Muzaffar Ali, Sufi Scholar and Film Maker; Kishore Kunal, Chairman, Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts, Patna; Sadhvi Sampragya Ji, Virayatan; Satwant Singh and Pracharak, Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee, Amritsar, Punjab among others. During the Session, the experts from religions, history and culture discussed various religious circuits and cultural-historical aspects of Bihar Tourism.
Ali deliberated on the ‘Sufi Heritage of Bihar’. He said that Bihar is the destination of Sufism and has produced saints like Yahiya Maneri, Shaif-U-din, Lehia etc among others. “ If we want to promote Sufi tourism of Bihar, we will have to generate quest in the people because tourism is not just the development of hotels and buildings but people’s sentiments and culture are also an integral part of it.”
Behl dwelled on the ‘Buddhist Heritage of Bihar’. Kunal informed the audience about the various sites of Ramayana and Shiv-Shakti circuits in Bihar and highlighted the importance of Buxar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Gaya, Bhabhu and Jamui for Ramayana and Shiv-Shakti circuits. Sadhvi Sampragya Ji shed light on Jain heritage of Bihar. Satwant Singh said Bihar has huge tourism potential. “Despite this huge potential, it remained in a corner of tourism map due to the lack of awareness among its people. Explaining the ‘Sikh Heritage of Bihar’, he said that Bihar is not only the sacred pilgrimage for the Sikhs as it is the birthplace of Shri Guru Govind Singh but also a centre of knowledge and learning since time immemorial. “We must showcase all these to promote tourism and awareness about the State,” he added.
SESSION II : Establishing Linkages To Promote Tourism
The session was chaired by Pawan Verma, Cultural Advisor to the Chief Minister of Bihar and speakers were Mihir Kumar Singh; Girish Shankar; Kamal Hingorani, Senior Vice President, SpiceJet; Shaun Mann , Senior Investment Policy Officer, International Finance Corporation; Niranjan Khatri, General Manager, ITC Hotels and Karan Anand, Director, Cox & King Ltd. among others. During the Session, experts from industry presented their views for preparing plans for development of tourism in Bihar.
Hongorani said that Bihar has a huge untapped market for aviation as it has lowest per capita airport passengers but a huge tourism potential. He requested the Government for their support and informed that SpiceJet airline is in talks with the Bihar Government and the Airport Authority of India to operate scheduled flights from Patna and Bodh Gaya to Delhi, Varanasi and Kolkata from the upcoming winter season. He also said that considering the safety concern at the Patna airport, the budget carrier is expected to operate comparatively smaller planes from city like Bombardier 8Q 400 from Patna and Boeing 737-800 from the Gaya International airport.
Mann deliberated on the ‘Strategy to Promote Buddhist Tourism in Bihar’. He said that Bihar needs to have a defined road map for tourism. Further, he added that International Finance Corporation will work for the development of infrastructure in the Buddhist circuit. “The initial focus will be on 4 sites in Bihar namely Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda and Vaishali for identifying catalytic investment opportunities and for preparing feasibility/investment packages. This work will be done by September end. By December end, we will bring 3-4 projects to market to show demonstrative effect,” he said.
Khatri urged the companies to change their accounting principles and develop new eco principles. He discussed some ITC initiatives in this regard like ITC Green Centre at Gurgaon, Haryana. Further he said that we need some archaeological changes round the globe and develop barrier free infrastructures.
Anand said that Bihar has big tourism heritage and it is good that there is a positive vibe in the state. But much has to be done in the field of infrastructure development, hotels and highway among others, he added. He said that his company does not have any plan for opening its offices in the state as of now.
Rajeev Singh, Director General, Indian Chamber of Commerce, assured that ICC will partner the state in its activities and will bring investments to the state which has been done in this conference by bringing three companies who are willing to invest in ‘Theme Park’ projects and two circuits. He also registered his keen interest to jointly work with the Government for organising ‘International Buddhist Conclave’ in September.
