Buddhist Shrines in Telangana Fail to Attract Foreign Tourists

 Hyderabad: Despite being home to centuries-old Buddhist shrines, including at Phanigiri, Dhulikatta and Kotilingala, Telangana continues to lag behind in attracting pilgrims and global tourists. This is evident from the visitors logging at these sites.

The Telangana Tourism department figures reveal a poor foreign tourists’ footfall at the Buddhist sites. Buddhist Stupas in Khammam district and Dhulikatta in Peddapalli district failed to attract even a single foreign tourist last year.

Buddhavanam in Nagarjunasagar, one of the biggest and significant Buddhist heritage and spiritual sites in Asia, is no better as it recorded only 421 foreign tourists in 2025.

As for domestic tourism, the number of visitors saw a fluctuating trend between 2022 and 2025. Buddhavanam got over 1.03 lakh visitors in 2022, dropping to 69,600 in 2023, and then went up to 77,800 in 2024 and registered around 82,100 tourists in 2025.

Buddhist stupas at Nelakondapally remained the second most visited site, with local visitors ranging between 27,900 and 38,100 during this period. Dhulikatta continued to see low domestic visitors, with annual turnout below 1,600.

One of the main reasons for poor global tourists’ footfall is attributed to lack of enough basic amenities in the sites. Except for Buddhavanam, which has a separate wing and is maintained under the Buddhavanam Project, the other sites are struggling for basic amenities.

Situation at the Phanigiri Buddhist site in Suryapet district is such that the doors are opened only when a visitor arrives. “Basic amenities are missing and displays are kept in a shed,” said an official, requesting anonymity. Sites such as Dhulikatta and Kotilingala have to be developed as well to attract global and domestic tourists, the official added.

In addition, the officials said these sites have been facing an acute shortage of staff for taking up maintenance. A request has already been sent to the government seeking additional staff.

To improve footfall, the heritage enthusiasts suggested several measures, including easy access to sites, structural conservation and regular maintenance, and offering basic amenities such as tourist information centres, restaurants, accommodation, interpretation centres, and trained tour guides.

A senior heritage department official recommended organising familiarisation tours, building networks with academics and Buddhist organisations in India and South Asia besides conducting roadshows in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, and Japan, and hosting large Buddhist cultural events at heritage sites to increase visitor numbers.