BHUBANESWAR: Brushing away the negative impact of Covid-19, the nature and eco-tourism camps in Odisha this year have registered a roaring success recording a footfall of over 55,000 and earning more revenue than the previous year.
The eco-tourism projects that provide livelihood to hundreds of forest dwellers in the State had remained shut for nearly seven months from March 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic. They were reopened in November, 2020.
However, within five months, the tourist footfall at these destinations surpassed 55,000 mark generating a revenue of Rs 8 crore till mid-March against the collection Rs 6.85 crore in 2019-20.
Visitors from 22 different states have stayed in different ecotour properties across the State, said officials of the Forest department.
They said proper implementation of Covid safety guidelines, training and capacity building of local communities on Covid protocols and hospitality services played a major role in this success.
Community model of eco-tourism was started in the State in 2016. At present, 43 eco-tourism destinations are operational in 16 districts. Five new destinations will be opened soon in Nuapada and Koraput. More than 600 community members are deriving livelihood support by managing these destinations, they said.