BHUBANESWAR: The Capital City will host the fourth edition of Odisha Travel Bazaar this month after a gap of two years to expand Odisha’s domestic and international connections and collaborations for revival of the tourism and hospitality sector in the post-pandemic phase.
The three-day event organised by the State tourism department in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will take place from October 28 to 30.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to inaugurate the flagship event on October 28.The primary objective of Odisha Travel Bazaar 2022 will be to create a platform for aggressive promotion of tourist destinations in the State to both international and domestic buyers, said State Tourism Minister Aswini Kumar Patra.
He said steps are being taken by the State government to establish Odisha as a diverse tourism hub of global standards by tapping potentials of different tourist sites. As many as 25 foreign tour operators from eight countries - Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam - and 82 domestic tour operators from cities including Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Guwahati and Hyderabad will take part in the event as prospective buyers. The tourism fraternity from Odisha comprising hotels and tour operators will promote the tourism products of the State at the event as seller.
Tourism secretary Surendra Kumar said the event will focus on B2B meetings between tourism fraternity of the State with domestic tour operators and foreign tour operators. Familiarisation (FAM) trips to various tourism destinations have also been planned to promote diverse tourism products, he said.
FICCI Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Committee co-chairman and Swosti Hotels CMD JK Mohanty said the three-day event will be a huge platform for the tourism fraternity of the State to collaborate with domestic and foreign tour operators. “The focus will be more on domestic tour operators as domestic tourism has assumed great importance in the post-Covid era,” he said.
INT’L FLIGHT SERVICE LIKELY TO RESUME IN STATE SOON
Bhubaneswar :International flights service in Odisha may resume soon, said Tourism Minister Aswini Kumar Patra on Wednesday. Speaking to media on the sidelines of a tourism event here, the Minister said international flight movement to the State has stopped since the Covid-19 outbreak two years back. He said the State government is working towards resumption of the services and is in touch with the Centre. “Though there is no direct flight facility for now, tourists from abroad can visit Odisha using domestic connecting flights. The State government has ensured all kind of facilities for their smooth travel to the State,” the Minister said. International flight service has not resumed despite tourism and hospital sector jumping back to pre-Covid normalcy.