BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has identified 17 priority destinations comprising beaches, bio-diversity zones, heritage monuments and areas of religious and cultural importance for an integrated master plan-based development to promote tourism, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday.
Inaugurating the fourth edition of Odisha Travel Bazaar, a flagship event of Odisha Tourism, organised by the State Tourism department in association with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Chief Minister said, “Odisha has been taking focused strides to develop and introduce several niche tourism experiences.”
With products that are centred on key tourism offerings to match global standards, Odisha will be able to attract not just the finest brands in business of travel and hospitality but also tourists looking for experiences that are bespoke with a fresh perspective, he said.
The Chief Minister said his government is working tirelessly towards enriching the tourism experience in the State by encouraging investments and enterprises in niche segments such as houseboat tourism, glamping, water-based adventure, camping and caravan tourism, heritage palace home stays and many more.
“After successfully hosting the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, Odisha now has the rare opportunity of hosting FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup for consecutive second time. To make this sporting event truly world class, India’s biggest Hockey Stadium is coming up in Rourkela, which along with Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar will be hosting the matches in January 2023,” he said.
The Chief Minister welcomed foreign and domestic tour operators to the event and sought their active contribution to market State’s tourism products. Earlier on the day Tourism Minister Aswini Kumar Patra, inaugurated the B2B meeting at Odisha Travel Bazar 2022 held at Hotel Swosti Premium. “The Travel Bazaar will provide a platform for exchange of ideas and interaction for domestic and foreign tourism stakeholders,” he said.
Co-Chairman of FICCI Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee and Swosti Hotels CMD J K Mohanty said, “Odisha is the only State in India, which has a number of diverse tourism products on offer.” As many as 25 foreign tour operators from eight countries and 89 from different cities of India are participating in the three-day event which will conclude on October 30. Tourism Secretary Surendra Kumar and director Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav also spoke.