BHUBANESWAR: Minister for Tourism and Culture Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi on Friday called upon hotel and hospitality industry to focus on offering quality services at a lesser price for making Odisha a popular destination among the tourists from both domestic and overseas segments.
Addressing a national conference on ‘Entrepreneurship in hospitality and tourism industry: Emerging trends and challenges’ here the Minister said the Government has embarked on a mission for boosting the infrastructure as the State has a shortage of around 10,000 rooms and other resources.
“But the existing hotel rooms need to offer the best services. Our objective should be to make tourists feel good by the way of offering quality services at a reasonable price,” he observed. Odisha Government, Panigrahi said, has taken a conscious decision not to get into the hotel business.
It has been decided to hand over Panthanivas to private operators through bidding so that those can be run in a professional manner, he added. Pointing out that tourism contributes about 10.4 per cent of GSDP in Odisha, Tourism Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said urban management, hospitality, tourism, art and heritage are key areas for the growth of a nation.
“Odisha has seen a great transformation in the last 20 years. Tourism is a priority sector for the happening State. We are planning to introduce more tourism related experiences so that it can be more visible outside,” he added. Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority Subroto Bagchi stressed on seven important aspects to become successful in the hospitality sector.
“Entrepreneurs expecting to prosper in the sector should focus on domain, tools, methodology, quality, innovation, brand and governance,” he said.
The two-day conference organised by Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition deliberated on entrepreneurship and economic growth. Celebrity chef and an alumni of the institute Harpal Singh Sokhi said this is the era of entrepreneurs.
“Years ago we were feeling ashamed to put up a tea stall, but now it stands as an opportunity before us.
One of my dream projects is to start a chain of tea stalls to employ transgenders to help them earn respect,” he said. The principal of IHM Sharada Ghosh, organising secretary Abinash Dash and joint secretaries Yuvraj Prasad and Pramathadhip Kar also spoke. A festival on ‘Maharashtrian Foods’ was organised.