Lumbini, January 10, 2019: The first Buddhist International Travel Mart (BITM)-2019 was inaugurated at the birthplace of Lord Buddha, Lumbini by Hon. Minister for Tourism Culture and Civil Aviation and Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust Rabindra Adhikari to promote Lumbini as the prime Buddhist heritage site and to create a platform for interaction between organizations, tour operators and agencies for exchange of ideas and business. The participants of the BITM that included ministers, high level government officials, monks and nuns, foreign delegates and tourism entrepreneurs gathered for prayers at Mayadevi Temple before formal inaugural session. The formal ceremony was organized in the Global Buddhist Conference Hall of Lumbini. 

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Minister Adhikari said that the event was organized in Lumbini to promote and encourage more people to visit the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. “Lumbini has more tourism potential than any other destinations of Nepal hence the government is committed to promote Lumbini in the International arena”, said Minister Adhikari. 

The Vice Chairman of LDT Ven. Metteyya Sakyaputta informed the International delegates about the significance of Lumbini, as the birthplace of the Lord Buddha. He opined that the teachings of of the Lord Buddha had become more relevant today than before as the world is going under different forms of conflicts and chaos.  “Lumbini provides a unique experience to the visitors of any faith” said Metteyya. He also invited the international visitors to the birthplace of Buddha to experience eternal peace and tranquility. 

Tourism Minister of Province No. 5 Hon. Lila Giri, Secretary of the Federal tourism ministry Mr. Krishna Prasad Devkota, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board Mr. Deepak Raj Joshi, Coordinator of “Visit Nepal 2020” campaign Mr. Suraj Vaidya, President of NATTA Mr. CN Pandey and foreign tourism experts Ashish Gupta and Michael Turtle expressed their views for the promotion of Buddha and Lumbini in the International tourism market.  

The mart was organized under the theme "Explore the Buddha land Nepal," which aims to promote the Buddhist sites, spreading the message that Nepal is center for world peace. Buddhist conferences, intensive interaction programs and B2B sessions were other attractions of the event. BITM 2019 was concluded on 12th Jan 2019 with the announcement of organizing the second BITM in March 2020.