BHUBANESWAR: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HARO) has come forward to promote brand Odisha by highlighting its exotic places and virgin beaches along with adventurous destinations besides the temple architecture and rich tribal culture.
As part of the strategy, the association has planned to make Odisha a 21-night destination and add 5,000 more hotel rooms in next three to five years with a focus on western region. “Earlier, Odisha was being promoted as short haul destination of two nights/three days mainly on Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark triangle. Now we have planned the tour packages in such a way that tourists can spend at least three weeks,” said HARO chairman JK Mohanty.
The tourist places in the State have been divided into nine circuits to focus on diverse destinations. Locations apart, mangrove forests, wildlife, silver filigree works, stone crafts, Patta Chitra paintings, handloom and handicraft can be the added attraction.
As three new airports at Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Jeypore airports are coming up, tour operators believe, Odisha, which is as big as UK, can attract more domestic as well as overseas tourists.“The State Government’s proactive tourism policy promoting eco-tourism aggressively is another reason why Odisha can easily become a 21-night destination. But to provide basic amenities, we need more hotels rooms. The HARO has planned additional 5,000 rooms which will meet the shortage of accommodation facilities,” Mohanty said.
Currently, Odisha has the lowest star hotels in the country. Only 10 star hotels in the State have 670 classified rooms. The association has estimated an investment of nearly `1,500 crore to develop 5,000 rooms of three-star quality.
Meanwhile, the hoteliers association has demanded the State Government to consider the recommendations they had made during the State level tourism conclave last year.Mohanty said the Government must aggressively organise road shows in countries like US, UK, Sri Lanka, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, Germany, France and Japan from where tourist inflow to India is high.
“We have demanded a convention centre of international standard having facilities to accommodate at least 5,000 guests. Once developed, it can help boost tourism. Many international conferences are shifted to Hyderabad or New Delhi because we lack a big convention centre. The Government should also set up Tourism Development Authority in the lines of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan for branding of Odisha at different levels,” he added.