Odisha Tourism's roadshow in Varanasi to present "India's Best Kept Secret"
Varanasi : Shri. Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS , Commissioner - cum - Secretary, Tourist Department & Sports and Youth Department, Government of Odisha, today led a delegation to its Varanasi roadshow conducted in association with industry major FICCI.
Odisha tourism in collaboration with the 'Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry' (FICCI) has also planned to diversify the magnitude of tourism in the country and world as well. FICCI is the largest apex business organization in India.*
The state’s Tourism Department’s present campaign has successfully concluded roadshows in 10 cities of India comprising of B2B networking meetings between travel agents, apart from select meetings with investors and brands looking to enter Odisha’s tourism and hospitality sector.
Department of Tourism has initiated the proceedings with a detailed presentation, by highlighting key tourism offerings of Odisha across segments such as heritage tourism, ecotourism, ethnic tourism, and spiritual tourism amongst others. The highlight of the presentation was Odisha Tourism’s recently launched signature tourism product called Marine Drive Eco-retreat which has already become a major hit among tourists. Mr Dev said, " Marine Drive Eco-retreat is Eastern India’s first Glamping (Glamorous camping) project comprising of luxurious accommodation facilities, adventure activities, cultural performances, etc. "
Odisha is steadily emerging as India’s most vibrant sporting destination, a key factor for enhancing the state’s global brand image and pushing up foreign tourist arrivals. "We are especially focusing on segments like ecotourism, ethnic and handicrafts tourism, besides capitalising on niche segments like heritage homestays and adventure tourism, so that more tourists can explore the unexplored parts of Odisha -- apart from the most popular destinations like Puri and Konark", Shri. Vishal Kumar Dev said.
The Tourism Department’s presentation highlighted key facets of Odisha’s tourism potential starting from stunning naturally endowed locations and sprawling biodiversity to significant monuments and unique art and craft. The Government has already expressed its intent to start new tourism products in the form of houseboat tourism, camping tourism, etc.
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.
Among the key initiatives of the Department of Tourism is its virtual tourism drive, centred on its award-winning website odishatourism.gov.in. Built on the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) platform, its capabilities in stakeholder engagement, multimedia information management and analytics Odisha Tourism hopes to reach a wider national and global audience with greater accuracy, and attract larger numbers of medium and high spending tourists. The website offers a portal for travel agents and hoteliers to register and publish their Odisha packages.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sunil Kumar Patnaik, Asst. Director, Tourism Dept, Govt of Odisha said, " Through the Varanasi roadshow, Odisha hopes to drive up tourist inflow from the eastern region of India, inter-alia offering the closest beach destinations for vacationers. The improved air connectivity and the operationalisation of Jharsuguda airport last year promised to provide a boost to business activities besides tourism."
For more information, please write to info@odishatourism.gov.in
