CNI News

15 Feb 2023

As the tour season to Bodh Gaya starts in October and concludes at the end of March, issuing passports for Bodh Gaya pilgrims will be suspended at the end of the month, Chairman U Naung Naung Han of the Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association told the CNI.

Tour operations to Bodh Gaya were suspended due to COVID-19 and resumed in November 2022. Passports are issued for the pilgrims with the recommendation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs by the Ministry of Home Affairs, he added.

He told the CNI, "There is a committee for scrutinizing pilgrims to Bodh Gaya under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Tour companies arranged with the committee to issue recommendations for passport applications even before the pilgrim tour season in August or September.

A passport office

As the pilgrim tour season is concluding next month, authorities are planning to suspend issuing passports for pilgrims."

Issuing passports has been suspended for an unlimited period in the entire country since December, 2022. However, it continues to issue passports for pilgrims for the three-day and two night trips.

Pilgrims who have received passports to Bodh Gaya are required to travel to the destination without fail, an official from a tour agency told the CNI.

She said, "We have to submit the lists of pilgrims to the immigration department at the airport and send photographs of their passports with their photos to the religious affairs department when they arrive in Bodh Gaya. Our company will be blacklisted if someone makes something wrong after receiving the passport.

Yangon International Airport

It costs pilgrims about US$ 1,000 (MMK 3 million) to travel to Bodh Gaya for a week and about US$ 500 (MMK 1.5 million) to visit there for three days, according to the MTEA.

Two airlines are operating five flights a week to Bodh Gaya and about 600 pilgrims are travelling to Bodh Gaya a week.

Before the pandemic, about 30,000 pilgrims visited Bodh Gaya a year and only about 15,000 pilgrims will be able to visit there this year, according to the association.