
BHUBANESWAR: The Tourism department on Wednesday called upon stakeholders in the industry to explore Odisha for MICE and wedding tourism, the two areas that are witnessing significant growth post the Covid pandemic.
At a sectoral session on ‘Celebrating Connections: Elevating MICE and Wedding Tourism as Catalysts for Economic Growth’, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida and chief secretary Manoj Ahuja assured them of all help in setting up their tourism and hospitality ventures in the state.
Parida said while Konark and Puri can be explored for wedding tourism, Bhubaneswar is in demand for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions). These niche tourism sectors had also found mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inaugural speech at Utkarsh Odisha Conclave on Tuesday where he had said that Odisha was an important destination when it came to ‘Wed in India’, and ‘Heal in India’.
The department received proposals for 47 hotel projects with an investment of Rs 3,792 cr, 23 resorts (Rs 2,387 cr), 30 motels/wayside amenities (Rs 246 cr), nine water sports/cruise tourism projects (Rs 574 cr), four adventure tourism (Rs 23 cr), two amusement parks (Rs 23 cr), two hotel institutions (Rs 50 cr), among others. The department received a total investment intent for 121 projects worth Rs 8,153 crore .
Tourism director Balwant Singh said the government’s focus is on 15 priority destinations. It has earmarked 5,570 acre of investible land in these destinations. The process of verification and acquisition is in progress, he said.
An MoU was also signed between the department and the National Council of Science Museums under which the latter will develop new museums and interpretation centres.