BHUBANESWAR:Members of eastern state chapter of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) convened a meeting in the city on Tuesday to discuss opportunities and challenges in tourism sector in the region.
Addressing the meeting, chairman of IATO, eastern region, JK Mohanty said eastern part of the country receives less tourists compared to southern, western and northern parts of the country where tourism segment is more organised and the policies are flexible.
Though Eastern India has rich tourism potential, it lacks projection at the national and international levels, he said.
“The region’s beaches, mountains, eco-tourism hubs, tribal tourism, lakes, wild-life, art and culture, mangrove forests and much more are yet to find a place in the world tourism map,” Mohanty added.
The participants proposed to launch an image building campaign to transform Eastern India into a global tourism hub, conduct workshops and seminars among tour operators and prepare and circulate brochures and audio-visuals to make the region more visible on the world tourism map.
“The golden jubilee celebration of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) which is scheduled in the Capital City between September 25 and 27 would project Odisha tourism in a larger scale and generate investment opportunities,” IATO Odisha chapter chairman Gagan Sarangi said.
Among others, IATO east and north-east office heads, Ashish Phhokan, Debjit Dutta and Deepak Gupta were present.