BHUBANESWAR: The Tourism department has proposed the Odisha Industrial Development Corporation (IDCO) to introduce a separate land lease mechanism for emerging hospitality formats such as tent cities, glamping sites and other low-impact tourism projects.
In a letter to the chairperson of IDCO recently, Tourism secretary Balwant Singh stated that tourism and hospitality projects currently receive government land on a long-term lease basis, generally for 99 years, under the provisions of the Odisha Tourism Policy.
However, considering that the newer tourism models like tent cities and glamping projects were short-gestation and operational in nature, with a typical lifecycle of up to 30 years, Singh proposed that land for such projects may be leased for a shorter duration of up to 30 years or for a period deemed appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
The proposal suggested that such decisions be taken based on recommendations of the Tourism department, considering the nature of the project, investment profile and sustainability aspects. Tourism officials said the move will help promote innovative and eco-friendly tourism products while ensuring better utilisation of land resources in line with policy objectives.