Bhubaneswar: October 05: Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik inaugurated second edition of Odisha Travel Bazar at Mayfair Convention in Bhubaneswar organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) & Odisha Tourism.
Inaugurating the Programme, Chief Minister said, ‘Odisha is a beautiful state with multifaceted tourism destinations. The state is lavishly gifted and marvelously endowed with a plethora of natural sites which spellbound each and every visitor visiting this mystic land to unravel the beauty of the state’.
The tourist arrival to this beautiful state is growing at a rate of about 9 percent per annum which is more than the global tourist arrival growth rate of 4 percent. New tourism products like ethnic tourism, Eco tourism and Buddhist tourism help Odisha to attract more tourists every year. This increasing trend of tourist arrival is a positive sign for the state, he added.
Talking about the air connectivity of Odisha with other part of the globe, Chief Minister said that, “In near future Air Asia will provide connectivity to other international destinations. Jharsuguda Airport also provides air connectivity to the tourist to western part of Odisha and it will also helpful for the state to increase tourist numbers in coming years.”
He also added that, the upcoming Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup will help Odisha to increase the tourist arrival.
Tourism Minister of the state Ashok Panda said that, “We are trying hard to position Odisha as the preferred tourist destination of the country. To increase the visibility of tourism potential of the state, we participated in so many international events and road shows.
This three days’ mega event witnessed participation of 60 FTOs from 23 countries like Australia , Austria , Bulgaria , China , Finland , France , Germany , Hungary , Indonesia , Italy , Malaysia , Philippines , Poland , Romania , Russia , Singapore , Spain , Sweden , Thailand , Netherlands , UK, USA and 16 leading DTOs from Ahmadabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Raipur, Rajkot, Ranchi, Varanasi and Visakapatnam.
The Department of Tourism, government Of Odisha has given special emphasis on Heritage , Culture & Tribal Tourism , Buddhist Tourism, Art & Craft , Eco & Wildlife Tourism , Pilgrimage tourism .
Tourism in Odisha is an important component of the State economy, as the tourism sector contributes approximately 13% of the states GDP. In recent years national and international tourist flow in the state has been going up with the declaration of Bhubaneswar airport as an international airport. The recent MoU between the State Government and Air Asia ensures larger tourist footfalls from South East Asia in the state.
