Bhubaneswar: The Day 2 of the Odisha Senior Officers’ Conference saw deliberations on ‘Making Odisha a Tourism Hub’ by senior officials of the Department of Tourism at Eco Retreat Konark.
ACS Tourism Surendra Kumar, Kandhamal Collector Patil Ashish Ishwar and Puri Collector Samarth Verma highlighted various initiatives of Odisha Tourism for the development and promotion of the tourism sector in the state.
In a presentation on the key initiatives by the state Tourism department, Surendra Kumar said, “Product innovation and diversification are key to developing the tourism sector in Odisha. We recently launched the Odisha Tourism Policy 2022 which offers a slew of incentives for investors that is far more than what other states are currently offering along with two roadmaps which will act as a guiding principle for the development of the tourism sector with focused interventions across key destinations based on gap assessment and future plans. We are strategically forging ahead to develop our state as a tourism hub that offers diverse tourism offerings such as MICE, wellness, health, eco-tourism and sports tourism with the introduction of many innovative and niche tourism products such as caravans, camping, medical tourism, houseboats, cruises, yachts, etc.”
Highlighting the raw untapped beauty of the highlands of Kandhamal Collector Patil Ashish Ishwar said, “Kandhamal is being developed as a niche ecotourism circuit to promote its diverse landscape. From valleys like Ushabati and silent valley Mandasaru to wildlife concentrated areas like Belghar and various waterfalls or tribal tourism incorporating the Kutia Kondha tribes, several destinations have been identified and are being upgraded to promote community-driven sustainable tourism development. Initiatives such as nature camps and eco-retreat are already in place promoting the rich tourism offerings of Kandhamal, while many homestays are under development”
Apart from Shri Jagannath Dham, there are many alternate tourism offerings in Puri.
Highlighting the initiatives, Puri Collector Samarth Verma said, “Puri is being developed as a multi-day tourism destination including adventure and water sports, art and culture, leisure and luxury, ecotourism, cuisine, etc. Apart from the Eco Retreat initiative that uses sustainability as the model but attracts high-paying tourists, many resorts are being developed both in the holy town of Puri and Konark. Heritage crafts village Raghurajpur, Pipili, Blue Flag Beach, Nimantran Restaurant, water sports on Puri beach and Chandrabhaga beach, Balukhand Sanctuary and Satapada in Chilika Lake are few of the destinations and products being developed to diversify Puri’s tourism offerings.”
The overall presentation of the Tourism department during the conference touched on the points of policy, infrastructure development, product development, the role of government and government sector and tourism promotion.
