BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Tourism has planned six more roadshows in the country to attract domestic tourists to the State. The roadshows have been planned in Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ranchi this month. Tourism Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said six roadshows in five cities (two in Mumbai) have already been conducted successfully. The response received from both national and international tour operators has been encouraging.
“Most of the tour operators, who interacted during B2B meetings, were not aware of many places of attractions in Odisha. They looked excited after watching visual presentations of various destinations that have immense tourism potential. We can expect more tourist footfall this year,” he said.
Odisha Tourism has identified nine circuits in the State including two national parks which have the potential to attract more tourists. Since the State has transformed itself into the Sports capital of the country, the focus is on launching campaigns by fusing sports with tourism.
While Bhubaneswar has direct air connectivity with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the City would soon be linked with Dubai and Singapore. Airline Air Asia has also decided to operate more domestic flights from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) to Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore from October 29.
Since the State is expecting a tourist footfall of 2.5 crores in next two years, direct air connectivity and more frequency of flights from different cities in the country will boost Odisha’s tourism potential. The State had received 1.5 crore tourists last year.
Tourism Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said discussions are on with other airlines for domestic flight services from BPIA. Resumption of Air Asia flight services between Bhubaneswar and Bangkok, which was stopped recently, is under consideration, he said.
“We are focusing on ethnic, handicrafts tourism and eco-tourism besides laying emphasis on niche segments of heritage homestays and adventure sports,” Panigrahi added.
