BHUBANESWAR: Buoyed by the success of last tourism conclave, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) plans to host the 4th Odisha Tourism Conclave on September 18.
Chairman of the association JK Mohanty said expert suggestions given by professionals during the 3rd Odisha Tourism Conclave last year were very useful to the State Government, decision-makers and travel trade.
Experts from various fields including travel trade, performing arts, adventure sports, airlines, media, digital marketing and branding besides food connoisseurs, filmmakers, eco-tourism lovers, academicians, bloggers and content writers are slated to attend. Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union and State Ministers are also scheduled to grace the annual event.
The hoteliers’ body had recommended to promote Odisha as a 21-night destination. With high-value offer at low price packages to woo more tourists, HRAO had suggested to engage local community in rural areas to handle tourist visits and boost rural economy.
HRAO demanded the Government to act fast on the allotment of land to investors to create roadside amenities for travellers and form State Tourism Development Authority to assist Tourism Department besides an international standard convention centre to attract international conferences and convention tourism to the State.
They had also suggested to engage branding experts and undertaking a comprehensive campaign through a celebrity ambassador besides making a vibrant Brand Odisha campaign video on the lines of countries like New Zealand, Thailand and Dubai.
“The Tourism Department accepted some of the suggestions and implemented those by changing the website of Odisha Tourism and aggressive digital brand marketing through domestic road-shows. The decision has also been taken to conduct international road-shows in different countries from where the State expects tourist traffic,” Mohanty said.
This time the association is optimistic that the proposed deliberations during the State-level workshop will help in formulating the new Tourism Policy 2020.