Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today declared open bookings for Odisha Tourism’s flagship three-month glamping festival.
The glamping festival is back riding on the success of its debut with Marine Drive Eco Retreat at Konark a year back. This time it has been scaled-up to five locations-Konark, Hirakud, Bhitarkanika, Daringbadi and Satkosia.
The new logo was also unveiled on the occasion, subtly depicting the ecological orientation.
Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik said that last year, a benchmark was set in luxury glamping with phenomenal success at the Marine Drive Eco Retreat at Konark.
The Chief Minister informed that this year it has been scaled-up to five unique locations – Konark, Hirakud, Bhitarkanika, Daringbadi and Satkosia.
The Eco retreats will offer tourists an excellent opportunity to discover Odisha’s diverse tourism offerings, in style, he added.
In a note of assurance to tourists from across the country during covid times, the Chief Minister said that all stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality sector across the State have been provided training on COVID-19 protocols.
Consistent with Odisha’s stellar management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eco Retreats will be in complete compliance with guidelines and standard operating procedures prescribed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, he added.
Patnaik urged upon the respective District Administrations to take ownership of the execution of the Eco Retreats.
Raising hope, for the pandemic affected tourism and hospitality sector, he expressed confidence that the Eco Retreats will provide the much-needed fillip to Odisha Tourism and help it revive during this difficult time.
Minister of Tourism and Culture Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said that Marine Drive Eco Retreat had created a massive impact that echoed at the Tourism Minister’s Conclave in January 2020.
“It is this fervour with which we shall keep working tirelessly to take Odisha to newer heights under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,” Panigrahi added.
Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy was of the view that the Eco Retreat model ticks the right boxes in terms of environmental sustainability, technological leverage, teamwork, timeliness in near-perfect compliance with the good governance framework of 5T and will be transformative for each location’s tourism-oriented future.
Welcoming the guests, Commissioner cum Secretary Tourism Vishal Dev, in his presentation, gave a glimpse of the experiences awaiting tourists at each of the five unique locations.
Among others, the event was attended by Development Commissioner, ACS Forest & Environment, Principal Secretary Revenue, Secretary to CM (5-T), Director Tourism, Chairperson OTDC, Collectors of the concerned districts, and senior officials of Tourism Department.
The Eco Retreats Odisha is slated to open from 08 December 2020 to 28 February 2021.
To book stays, an easy-to-use integrated portal ecoretreat.odishatourism.gov.in is available to tourists from across India.
