Paper short abstract:

Tibetans, non-Tibetans, and foreigners visit Dharamsala, India as a quest for spiritual pleasure. Tibetan ceremonies and Buddhist teachings serve spiritual nourishment. The tourism enhances economic stimulus butInternational migration is a concern for the host.

Paper long abstract:

People in all religions strive for a transcendent world which is free from suffering and seek for salvation. In Tibet the Tibetans used to undertake a journey to a sanctified place or attend ceremonies having sacred connotations which were considered to be core elements of religious practice. The hardships of the journey, offerings to religious institutions or practitioners, survival expenditure en route were only suppose to bring spiritual merit. Since their migration from Tibet to India the intention of the guest tourists (Tibetans, non-Tibetans, and foreigners) from all over the world to visit Dharamsala is on the rise.

A study was conducted in Dharamsala in northern part of India which is considered to be the sacred site for the Buddhists. The study seeks to explore the main attractions for the tourists including the foreigners who travel from far off places bearing the hardships of journey.

Being the seat of the Tibetan spiritual leaders and the platform of indigenous religious practices, the strength of tourists is more prominent especially in Dharamsala due to various reasons. Gradual attraction of this region in exile transformed into a greatest stimulus to tourists since 1989 when His Holiness the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel prize for Peace. Dharamsala has become one of the popular tourist resorts in Himachal Pradesh (India).

A significant number of tourists from all over the world travel to Dharamsala during Tibetan New year eve (dgu gtor), New Year (lo gsar) ceremonies and stay long for a set time to attend discourse, to learn Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan language and culture. The tourists appreciate Tibetan religious practices and the teachings of Buddhism as it depicts the way to an individual to be freed from karmic actions, those are believed to be the causative factors for all the sufferings and misfortunes which accumulate in the cyclic existence (wheel of life srid pa`I `khor lo). The tourists also learn how to achieve worldly peace through sacrificial acts.

For the tourists of Tibetan origin the indigenous religious discourse, ceremonies not only serves spiritual nourishment but also creates an avenue to exchange greetings and share the grief and sorrows amongst the fellow immigrants.

It is argued that the attraction for the tourists to this place contributes to responses both advantageous and disadvantageous to the host population.

The Tibetans living in Dharamsala survive on different types of business primarily based on running hotels, restaurants, cyber cafe, souvenirs shops, gift shops, Tibetan ethnic handicrafts or selling home made traditional Tibetan food. The tourism one way enhances economic stimulus to the host Tibetans and justifies the status of the exile Tibetans with potential strength in wider cultural context. In other way tourism has partially changed the outlook of the younger Tibetans. Attraction for jobs abroad like child minder, domestic helper reveals a growing tendency for International migration which is a concern for the exile Tibetans in India.

E-paper: this Paper will not be presented, but read in advance and discussed