A delegate meets a tour operator at the International Buddhist Conclave in Bodhgaya on Sunday. Picture by Suman

The Bihar leg of the International Buddhist Conclave concluded at Bodhgaya on Sunday on a successful note.

The stakeholders, including foreign travel and tour operators, their counterparts in India and government officials, seemed optimistic about the increased foreign tourist inflow in the Buddhist circuit in the state, the purpose for which the mega event was organised.

Travel operators, especially those from non-Buddhist American and European countries seemed elated by the exposure they got of the Buddhist circuit through the three-day conclave.

The concluding day of the conclave was dedicated to business-to-business discussions following which the participants left for Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh by a chartered flight, where the conclave would formally conclude on Sunday night. The conclave, jointly organised by the ministry of tourism and the governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, saw participation of 131 delegates from 32 countries and representatives from 18 states.

“I have come to India before but I never came to Bihar because the references about this state by travellers were not very good. However, with this first-hand experience that I got through this conclave, I can say that Bihar is a safe place for tourists. The infrastructure, including roads, is also satisfactory but I would suggest they cut down travel time between Bodhgaya and Rajgir. I would be interested in sending my clients here,” said Elena Peregrin, the director at Madrid-based Espana by Karisma.

Rahul Sharma, the director of New Zealand-based Exotic Holidays, echoed similar appreciation about the Buddhist conclave. “We are wholesale tour operators and we get our business in India through local operators. We got a lot of insight into the Buddhist circuit through this conclave, which we would now share with people in New Zealand to persuade them to visit places like Bodhgaya and Rajgir,” said Rahul.

Rainer Proffen, a German tour operator, claimed that he found a whole new destination of Bodhgaya for his clients through this conclave. “Germany is not a Buddhist country but my clients would be more than happy coming to Bodhgaya for a spiritual retreat. Based on my interaction here, with the local agents in Delhi and Bodhgaya, I can trade with them a package of three weeks. Till now, I have been sending my clients to the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur sector only but I can now send them to Bodhgaya and Nalanda as well under the three-week package. Thus, for me at least, this conclave has turned out to be highly beneficial,” said Proffen.

Local travel operators also seemed content with the business opportunities generated. “We are basically principal agents and we get most of our business through deals with foreign travel and tour operators. This conclave provided a good platform in this regard, wherein I had positive discussions with a lot of overseas travel operators,” said New Delhi-based Pragema Travels Private Limited.