OdishaPlus Bureau
Tourism Minister JP Panigrahi led a delegation at a road show on Sunday.It was organized by FICCI in Mumbai.The road show witnessed the participation of over 150 tour and travel operators from the city, who conducted rapid B2B networking with 18 leading tour operators from Odisha, who were part of the delegation.
Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev highlighted key offers across segments such as heritage tourism, ecotourism, ethnic tourism, and spiritual tourism amongst others. He emphasized the importance of the segment in terms of enhancing the state’s global brand image.
“Bhubaneswar, one of India’s smartest and most livable cities, is being increasingly connected to other parts of India and the world. It is this city which received commendations from the sporting world’s who’s who for conducting arguably the best sporting events ever in the form of the Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018, following the stellar organisation of the Asian Athletics Championships 2017,” he said.
Key facets of Odisha’s tourism potential starting from stunning naturally endowed locations and sprawling biodiversity to significant monuments and unique art and craft were showcased. Odisha is focusing on segments like ecotourism, ethnic and handicrafts tourism, besides capitalizing on niche segments like heritage home stays and adventure tourism, so that more tourists can explore the unexplored parts of Odisha.
J K Mohanty, Co-Chairman – Tourism Panel, FICCI Odisha State Council and Chairman & Managing
Director of Swosti Group said that Odisha is promoting Beach Tourism, Eco Tourism, Buddhist Tourism, Heritage Tourism, Religious Tourism, Medical Tourism, Travel Tourism, Tribal Tourism, Wellness Tourism, Cruise Tourism, Sand Art Tourism and Adventure Tourism on a mission mode.
Odisha, which witnessed 1.5 crore tourist footfalls in 2018, hopes to see the numbers rise to over 2.5 crore in 2021. The state boasts some exciting tourist circuits including diverse wildlife tours across 18 protected areas and two national parks, an enigmatic Buddhist circuit, apart from the spiritually exhilarating Golden Triangle Heritage Circuit of Bhubaneswar – Puri – Konark.