In 1994, the Dalai Lama visited ISFiT after he had received a visit from dedicated ISFiT representatives, who went to India and spent days outside his office until they got a 10-minute meeting with him. He was reported to have replied, "Cancel my other appointments. This is more important." 1994 was also the year that ISFiT started to offer financial support, so that participants from even more countries could come to the festival. The Dalai Lama visited the Festival for the second time in 2015.