Buddhist sites like the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, the ruins of ancient Nalanda University and the Stupa at Vaishali were the main attraction for foreign tourists, especially from the Buddhist countries.

According to tourism minister Sunil Kumar Pintu a ministry of tourism report says that one out of six foreign tourists heads towards Bihar to visit historical sites. It also says, that the state received more holidayers from abroad than Goa, which is considered the hotspot among foreigners due to its beaches.

But then Goa does not have so much sites associated with Buddhists as well as Hindu religions.

The state government expect the number of foreign tourists in the state to cross 10 lakh this year as more than 8.4 lakh have visited different historical sites of the state between January and August this year and more are expected in the coming tourism season, which starts from October. In 2011, the total number of international tourists coming here was 8.78 lakh.