Mystical Tibet Today: Growing Tourist Route for Buddhist Religion and Knowledge Seekers and Pilgrims

Introduction

Religious pilgrimage is not only an innate characteristic sociocultural phenomenon of world religions but also one of the most important integrative, communicative, and economic factors of our modernity. This is due to the specificity of inter-civilizational contacts at the global level, as well as its active influence on the nature and orientation of intercultural interaction between peoples.

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. Currently, it provides10% of the world's income and employs one-tenth of the total workforce. WorldTourism Organisation (WTO) estimates that by 2020 1.6 billion people will travel around the globe and an estimated income of 1.5 billion $ will be generated from these activities (Bozkurt 2014). With all these financial outcomes, tourism can provide great opportunities for the local economies. According to the latest forecasts of the World Tourism Organization, such areas as Tibet, Bhutan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia will be actively developed in Asia (UNWTO.org)

The sacred geography of the Tibetan region and the sacred Mount Kailas - unite the four major religions of the world. For several centuries, Tibet was closed to foreign visitors and tourists. This is explained not only by the difficult geographical location. The isolation of Tibet was largely driven by the policies of both the Tibetan rulers and the Chinese. The Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1949 was followed by an uprising that was severely suppressed by the Chinese army and special measures were introduced in the region. Tibet has been turned into a closed colony for the international community by China, which unfortunately has so-called He carried out genocide by the name of the Cultural Revolution. And Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama is still in exile and is actively trying to restore Tibet's independence and legitimate government.

It was only in 1984 that the Tibetan Gate opened to tourists and a real opportunity to travel to this unique country emerged. Nevertheless, only a few can travel there ... Of course, getting to know all the sights and even the most elementary ones requires a lot of time. Over the years, several major routes have been developed that you can best use if you are traveling for one to two weeks.

The situation in Tibet has improved for more than two decades. China has rebuilt and developed socio-economic infrastructure, communications, transport, and is contributing in every possible way to the development of tourism. According to China's Department of Tourism Development, Tibet's tourism budget increased by $ 390 million in the spring of 2019 to 41.1% (http://zwgk.mct.gov.cn/)The number of tourists visiting the region amounted to two and a half million, which is 84.2% more than in the same period last year. To attract more tourists during the winter season, the government has introduced several measures. Tibet is a special region of China that attracts tourists not only to monasteries and theological schools but also to the top of Mount Everest.

The article discusses the reasons why it was Indian Buddhism that became the spiritual foundation of Tibetan civilization, and Tibet - the “central country” of Buddhism. Based on data from Tibetan historical sources. The reasons for this were not only the historical and socio-political circumstances of Tibet and neighboring countries. Much more important in the historical choice and civilization strategy of Tibet were the spiritual and moral advantages of Buddhism and those qualities of the Indian tradition practics of Buddhism.the state, trends, and prospects of the development of religious tourism at the regional level are considered; classification of religious tourism is proposed; the motivation of religious tourists and pilgrims is investigated, their current position in the system of the tourism industry and recreation is analyzed. Because the developt of religious tourism in Tibet has a great future.

By examining the invariant and specific characteristics of religious tourism and pilgrimage, we can identify the general patterns of the spread of different forms of individual pilgrimage trends that are characteristic of many peoples and civilizations, including the world of Tibetan Buddhism.