Prospect of Pilgrimage Tourism in Namo Buddha Area, Kavre

This paper tries to find out the prospect of pilgrimage tourism at Namo Buddha, Kavre, Nepal. There is found limited academic work on pilgrimage tourism in Nepal; however, no evidence of study could be traced on Namo Buddha that is based on pilgrimage tourism perspective. A pilgrimage is an ancient form of religious travel where people make a journey to the place of their belief for experiencing spirituality. Namo Buddha is one of the sacred Buddhist shrines and important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists as they believe the relics of the previous life of Lord Buddha are kept at Namo Buddha Stūpa. Namo Buddha stūpa is also considered to be one of the holiest stūpas in Nepal including Svayambhu Stūpa (Svayambhu Mahachaitya) and the Bodhnath Stūpa (Khasti Mahachaitya). This stūpa commemorates the Buddha Śakyamuni’s sacrifice of his body to a starving tigress and her cubs in his previous life. Nepali people call this site Namo Buddha, Newars call Namo Buddha as Namura and Tibetans call it as Takmo Lu Jin. The place has a huge potential to attract both Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims including international tourists from all over the world. This place offers other attractions and activities besides pilgrimage-based elements such as sightseeing of heritage town; spectacular Himalayan ranges; paddy field terrains; hilly forests; soft adventures experience; and so on. Religious tourism and pilgrimage tourism are interchangeably used in this study and the paper is based on both the primary and secondary data. Exploratory research has been carried out to examine the religious and economic benefits of pilgrims at this site. It also tried to investigate locals’ perspectives on pilgrimage tourism development. Meanwhile, this paper not only studied prospects of pilgrimage tourism in Namo Buddha but also attempted to find out and highlight how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the destination.

Impact of COVID-19 on Pilgrimage Tourism: A Case Study of Lumbini, Nepal

The coronavirus outbreak is troubling the pilgrimage tourism industry in terms of economic, social, food, employment, and spiritual faith as pilgrimage activities are being stopped during the pandemic. The COVID-19 restriction and the nationwide lock-down has made it a very difficult time for pilgrims to stop the travel movement and this has made a big worry for government around the world. The pilgrimage tourism in Mecca, Vatican City, Israel, and India has been affected much by pandemic as gathering in the pilgrimage sites have been restricted since the year 2020. Lumbini one of the most important pilgrimage site, which is also a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site in Nepal, and has a significant contribution to the national economy. This research uses Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, to explore the impact of novel coronavirus on pilgrimage tourism and discusses the challenges experienced by Buddhist pilgrim, monks and nuns in different monasteries in 2020 and during the first quarter of the year 2021. The research is qualitative. The study is based on both primary and secondary data gathered through interviews with the related stakeholders and the review of several relevant secondary sources. The outcomes of the research illustrate that pilgrimage tourism has been extremely affected by coronavirus and lock-down causing multiple effects on social creation, economic and holy activities, and daily lives of the monks and nuns in Lumbini.

Potensi Pola Perjalanan Wisata Gastronomi di Kota Cirebon

Cirebon has a diverse tourism potential, including historical tourism, pilgrimage tourism, cultural tourism, and gastronomic tourism. The existence of three sultanates, as well as the pilgrimage destination of Sunan Gunung Jati, contributed to the wealth of tourism. The city also has a plethora of gastronomic tourism, which is heavily influenced by the historical tourism of the three sultanates. Currently, the city is not supported by gastronomic travel patterns that its stakeholders have socialized. The author employed a qualitative research method with a descriptive approach. Data for this study were gathered through observation and interviews.

The Spiritual Path of Pilgrimage Tourism for Sustainable Development: Case-Desa Astana-Cirebon, Indonesia

The Cirebon region which is located in the province of West Java, Indonesia has valuable artifacts and sites as a source of knowledge. Conservation in this area has not been actualized yet, even though it has potential for pilgrimage tourism destinations. The purpose of this research is to describe the spiritual path of Cirebon pilgrimage tourism. The method used is a case study, this method is more operational to find out why and how the spiritual path of the Cirebon pilgrimage was formed. The findings of this study are the existence of a spiritual path that connects the cemetery locations and sites such as: Talun Keramat Cemetery is located in Cirebon Girang Village, Talun District, Syekh Magelung Sakti Site is located in Karangkendal Village, Kepetakan District, Nyi Mas Gandasari Tomb is located in Pangurang Village. Arjawinangun District and one that is very well known to foreign countries is Astana Sunan Gunung Jati in Astana Village, Gunungjati District. The results of the study provide direction for developing a spiritual path to become a Cirebon tourist destination package as well as regional conservation.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PILGRIMAGE TOURISM IN THE EXAMPLE OF JIZZAKH

This article discusses the development of pilgrimage tourism on the example of Jizzakh. The Jizzakh oasis has a long history, and the nature of the region fascinates at first sight. In particular, the Forish district of the region has a number of tourist attractions, where agritourism, ethno-tourism, water and pilgrimage tourism are developed. There is an ancient cave in the gorge. Stone images engraved on the eastern side of the monument at a height of two and a half meters indicate that people inhabited this area as early as the Bronze Age.