Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Tourism entrepreneurs laud LDF's decision to halt conference


Bhairahawa, May 1
Tourism entrepreneurs in Lumbini have lauded the government step to halt the International Buddhism Conference that was taking place at the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

Organising the conference in either way would not be productive and meaningful therefore the government has taken a timely decision, they said.

Lumbini Development Fund has issued a statement on Thursday to formally announce the stop the celebration of 2564 Buddha Jayanti and third International Buddhism Conference.

State 5 President of Nepal Association of Travel and Tour Agents (NATTA) Bishnu Prasad Sharma termed the decision a good one. “The conference could be organised through video conferencing. But the aim of the conference is to promote tourism in Lumbini therefore the online conference wouldn’t have contributed to achieving the objective,” he said.

However, the LDF said that the Buddha Jayanti would be celebrated in Lumbini with the monks and Lamas making prayers and worship wishing the world peace. The event will be organised maintaining social distancing measures.

Mithun Man Shrestha, President of Lumbini Hotel Association said that the birthplace of Buddha was deserted due to the coronavirus pandemic so it was a good decision to stop the programme. However, it should be organised when the situation improves, he said.

Sanjaya Bajimaya, Tourism Coordinator of the Siddartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that all other events have also met the same fate due to the crisis.

He recommended the government to bring long term plan for the tourism revival.
This Buddha Jayanti will mark the lighting of 2,564 lamps in Lumbini.
The LDC has urged all to celebrate the Jayanti with prayers and worshipping in their homes.  


Published in The Rising Nepal Daily on 2 May 2020. 

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