Lucknow, August 21, 2026: Uttar Pradesh is ready to take its growing Buddhist tourism ecosystem to a wider global audience, with Japan emerging as a natural partner and Yamanashi potentially serving as an important gateway to Japanese travellers, Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh said on Friday as the state deepened its tourism engagement with the Japanese prefecture. The dialogue was held at IGP in Lucknow, two days after the UP Japan Investment Meet in New Delhi and following the delegation’s Agra visit on Thursday. Led by Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki and Vice Governor Junichi Ishidera, the delegation joined senior UP officials and tourism industry representatives for discussions on translating shared cultural ties into sustained tourism movement and institutional cooperation. Singh said Uttar Pradesh’s approach towards Buddhist tourism has changed significantly in recent years. “Since 2017, our focus has moved beyond individual monuments to connectivity, visitor facilities, accommodation, interpretation and the complete tourism experience. We have created a stronger foundation across the Buddhist Circuit and the next step is to connect this work with international markets. Japan is a natural partner because Lord Buddha has connected our people for centuries,” Singh said. “Our vision is that Yamanashi becomes a strong gateway for Uttar Pradesh in Japan, while Uttar Pradesh becomes a natural destination for Japanese travellers interested in Buddhism, spirituality, wellness and Indian culture. Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Kaushambi and Sankisa together allow a visitor to experience different chapters of Lord Buddha’s journey within one state,” he added. Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Culture and Religious Affairs Amrit Abhijat placed the tourism opportunity within Uttar Pradesh’s larger economic and infrastructure growth. “Uttar Pradesh is not only one of India’s fastest growing economies, with major advances in highways, civil aviation, industry and investment, but also the land of six key centres associated with Lord Buddha. While Japanese investors may come here for business, these sacred sites offer peace, hope and a deeper cultural connection. We invite Japan to invest in Uttar Pradesh’s tourism products and experiences. The fact that this delegation’s visit was advanced from its original schedule shows that our sustained engagement is already yielding results,” Abhijat said. Yamanashi’s Director General, Tourism, Culture and Sports Department, Yoshiyuki Koizumi, praised Uttar Pradesh’s tourism potential, diversity and the warmth experienced by the delegation. “Uttar Pradesh offers an extraordinary combination of heritage, spirituality, landscapes and living culture. What has equally stood out is the warmth with which we have been received. Yamanashi and Uttar Pradesh share deep cultural and spiritual ties, and this gives us a strong foundation to build greater travel, exchange and understanding between our people,” Koizumi said. The discussion also examined the practical opportunities and requirements for increasing travel between the two regions. Prateek Hira, Founder and CEO of Tornos and Chairman, FICCI Tourism Committee, said the shared cultural heritage of Uttar Pradesh and Japan offered a natural foundation for cooperation. “Uttar Pradesh, the land of Buddha, shares a deep cultural connect with Japan, where deities such as Shiva, Ganesha, Saraswati, Kuber, Lakshman and even Lord Krishna are revered. This shared heritage, along with the similarity between Yamanashi, known as Japan’s ‘Fruit Bowl’, and Uttar Pradesh’s strong agricultural identity, creates a natural foundation for tourism cooperation. With around two lakh Indians visiting Japan, the potential for greater two way tourism is immense,” Hira said. Rajan Kumar of TabiZuki India Pvt. Ltd. said Uttar Pradesh’s hospitality and culinary traditions could further strengthen the connection. “India’s long history and immense diversity, combined with Uttar Pradesh’s warm hospitality, offer Japanese travellers a distinctive experience. Lucknow’s rich gastronomy and Japan’s celebrated culinary traditions can create a strong food and cultural connect,” he said. The session also highlighted the importance of adapting hospitality to the expectations of Japanese travellers. Neha Rai of Lotus Nikko, whose group operates hotels in Shravasti and Kushinagar and has experience of the Japanese market through Lotus Trans Travels, highlighted reliability, comfort, timeliness and familiar food as important elements of the visitor experience. The group also serves Japanese meals at its hotels for travellers on the Buddhist Circuit. Hina Shiraz Zaidi, Director, Sheeraz Tours, pointed to growing interest on both sides, particularly among younger Indian travellers exploring Japanese culture, cuisine, cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji and contemporary attractions. She also highlighted school group travel as an opportunity to deepen cultural understanding and people to people ties. Special Secretary and Director Tourism Mridul Chaudhary said the Department has simultaneously been strengthening the infrastructure required to support international tourism. “Under the State Plan, 51 tourism schemes involving more than ₹218 crore have been taken up at Buddhist destinations. This has been complemented by integrated tourism development at Sarnath and Kushinagar through World Bank assistance and a major intervention at Shravasti under SASCI. The effort is to bring infrastructure, interpretation, hospitality and onward movement together so that visitors experience the Buddhist Circuit as one coherent journey,” Chaudhary said. Tourist arrivals across the six principal Buddhist destinations increased from 22.40 lakh in 2022 to 81.83 lakh in 2025, while foreign arrivals rose from 48,498 to around 4.43 lakh. Between January and June 2026, the circuit received another 30.07 lakh visitors, including 2.02 lakh foreign tourists. *MoU Formalises Tourism Partnership* The tourism engagement culminated later in the day with the signing of a tourism cooperation MoU between Uttar Pradesh and Yamanashi Prefecture in the presence of UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh. The agreement creates a framework for sharing tourism knowledge, joint promotion, engagement between tourism operators, religious and cultural routes and mutual visitor exchange. Buddhist, spiritual and wellness tourism have been specifically included, along with joint campaigns, exhibitions, seminars and digital content. It also provides for greater awareness of the UNESCO World Heritage values of Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh and Fujisan in Japan. Future cooperation can also extend to Buddhist interpretation, multilingual visitor facilitation, meditation and wellness experiences, hospitality, cultural exchanges, professional training and knowledge transfer, areas discussed during Friday’s engagement. The delegation’s Uttar Pradesh itinerary has been curated to showcase different dimensions of the state’s tourism offering. After experiencing the Taj Mahal and Braj traditions in Agra and holding tourism and industry engagements in Lucknow, the delegation will travel to Varanasi and Sarnath, where Kashi’s spiritual traditions, Ganga Aarti and Buddhist heritage will bring the visitors closer to one of the deepest cultural links between India and Japan.