Bloomington gears up for Dalai Lama’s arrival

With thousands flocking to Bloomington this week for the Dalai Lama’s visit, many organizations are gearing up for the strain the expected 10,000 visitors will place on the city’s resources. \nThe Bloomington Indiana Convention and Visitors Bureau has been working with the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center to find accommodations for visitors and help with the increase in traffic and crowds by using the University buses to transport people to different events.\n“We have been involved to some extent with the Tibetan (Mongolian Buddhist) Cultural Center to make (his) visit run a little more smoothly,” said Tosha Daugherty, director of marketing and communications for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’ve had the job over the past few weeks of assisting in reserving hotel rooms and transportation.”\nAt this point, there are only a few scattered hotel rooms on the outskirts of town left, but no vacancies in the downtown Bloomington area for visitors, Daugherty said.\nIU has been particularly helpful in working with the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center to co-host some of the week’s events, Daugherty said.\nIU was not directly involved in the process of bringing the Dalai Lama to Bloomington. However, because some events are held on campus, the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center and IU have worked to form a “partnership,” said Lisa Morrison, spokesperson for the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center.\n“We have been in the process of talking to a wide range of individuals at the University to create an affiliation with the IU Auditorium and Assembly Hall for this event,” Morrison said. \nIU is also allowing the Convention and Visitors Bureau access to the buses that will transport visitors to the Auditorium, she said. \nWhile much of the transportation and planning concerns were left to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the task of promoting the Dalai Lama’s visit fell to the Bloomington government and the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center. \n“We have mainly been involved in helping organize community support for the events taking place this week,” said Maria Heslin, the communications director at the mayor’s office. \nThe City Hall atrium has been decorated with Tibetan-style photos and tapestries since Oct. 1 in preparation for the visit, Heslin said. \n“The City of Bloomington has been particularly gracious in allowing (us) to use the City Hall’s atrium as a place to display Tibetan cultural decor and backing,” Morrison said.