COVID-19 Shattered Tourism in Lumbini

 

Like other tourism destinations world over, Lumbini, the holy birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha and World Heritage Site has also suffered heavily from COVID-19. Tourist visitation was decreased by 82.04 percent in 2020 because of still wide-spreading pandemic in the comparison of 2019. Lumbini had received a total of 1,558,326 tourists in 2019 which shrank to 279,927 in 2020. Categorically, 197,252 Nepalese, 37,206 Indian, and 45,469 third-country visitors visited Lumbini in 2020 that makes 83.26%, 81.95%, and 73.87% decrement respectively in comparison with that of the previous year. The comparison of tourist arrival in Lumbini is presented in the following table.    

Lumbini did not receive even a single tourist for seven months from April to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the public health safety policy of the Government of Nepal, tourism destinations including Lumbini were closed for visitation during those months. The government permitted to open heritage sites for pilgrimage from November, in the condition to be followed strictly on public health safety protocols issued by the government. Then onwards, a small number of tourists have resumed Lumbini visitation as given in the following table.

Tourists from 79 different countries visited Lumbini this year. Amongst the Third country visitors; the seven countries with higher visitor numbers in order are Myanmar (9943), Thailand (9555), Sri Lanka (4061), China (2477), S. Korea (1707), Vietnam (1511), and Taiwan (655).