Odisha tourism plans to cater to domestic citizens amid COVID-19 pandemic
BHUBANESWAR: With travel and tourism industry being the worst hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, Odisha government has planned to focus on domestic tourists with an emphasis on neighbouring states.
Speaking at a webinar on ‘Tourism Insight and Strategies to the COVID-19 Crisis’ organised by CII, Tourism Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said that Odisha needed a two-pronged approach, equally focusing on revival and growth plan. "Promoting domestic tourism will be our area of focus. Once the road traffic is operationalised, there will be ample of opportunity for family and road-based tourism, which needs to be tapped," he said.
The sector was ravaged by cyclone Fani during this time last year, but the State Government had managed to restore normalcy in a record time. In fact, the Tourism department had organised a number of roadshows attracting both tourists and investors.
Even as industry stakeholders are apprehensive about a possible change in the consumer behaviour post COVID-19, sparsely populated destinations are expected to be preferred by tourists and Odisha is at the forefront of capitalising on such a shift.
Chairman of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha JK Mohanty urged the Government for a systematic intervention to safeguard employment as pay-cut or loss of jobs for those associated with the industry is certain without clarity on revival plans.
Highlighting the importance of going local, founder and CEO of BITB Tourism Conclaves Navin Berry wondered whether the pandemic has emerged an anti-thesis to globalisation. “Domestic tourism is going to be the mainstay of businesses in the future,” he said.
Executive Director of Mayfair Hotels and Resorts Limited Souvagya Mohapatra said that tourism industry was the first to be impacted by the Government advisory restricting air and rail travel, following COVID-19 cases in other countries. "Unfortunately, it is going to be the last sector to recover from the tragedy. The Government SOP and plans to tackle the issue are going to invariably dictate the sector’s road to recovery," he said.