India’s Buddhist Tourism and Direct Flights

[geovalin]

 

A direct flight between Cambodia and India is in the pipeline to encourage more Cambodians to visit the country for various purposes, especially Buddhist tourism, according to the secretary at India’s Ministry of Tourism. Secretary Shri Vinod Zutshi said the plan is in the works but requires the cooperation of the private sector to make it happen, while declining to comment on when he thought the flights might start.
 

“We are encouraging the airlines. Now, there are none, but we are trying,” he told Khmer Times in New Delhi on Sunday during the 5th International Buddhist Conclave, part of a campaign to attract more foreigners to visit the “Land of the Buddha.” “It is the tourism secretary’s endeavor to seek more connectivity. The new civil aviation policy of India is to unlock the sky.”
 

Although Indian Ambassador to Cambodia Naveen Srivastrava told Khmer Times last month that direct flights are likely to come into existence next year if talks go well, when pressed about the question, he said: “I cannot give you a timeline. We are speaking with the private sector about that.” At present, Cambodians who wish to travel to India must transit in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport for about four hours before departing to New Delhi. The direct-flight plan has been in limbo for years. It followed the years-long plan for a direct flight between Japan and Cambodia after direct flights were halted in 2009.

 

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/30391/india---s-buddhist-tourism-and-direct-flights/

 

 

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