BHUBANESWAR, SEPT 25: Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma on Friday said the Centre eyes at least one percent of world tourism in next three to five years.
“The Union Govt has set a target to share at least one percent of world tourism, and for this we have to take the whole country together and understand the tourism potentiality,” said Sharma while addressing the Golden Jubilee convention of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association (FHRAI) here.
Stating that the present economic policies and infrastructure were not sufficient to meet the target, the Minister said there was need of at least three lakh classified hotel rooms in the country by 2020 from present 80,000 rooms.
Urging the stakeholders to cooperate to boost the tourism sector that would generate more employment, Sharma said the government was focusing on medical and wellness tourism.
The Union Minister further said that Centre is actively considering FHRAI’s proposal to accord infrastructure status to hospitality industry.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the state has immense tourism potential which needs to be explored.
“Odisha offers tremendous scope for tourism development. My government will provide all facilities to promote and market Odisha as a preferred destination for tourists. I would urge you to take advantage of all this and exploit this fresh potential,” he said.
Informing that the state was deep-rooted in heritage, culture and history that dates back to several centuries, he said, Odisha is endowed with the bounties of nature– a long coastline, green and dense forests, rivers and lakes.
He said Buddhism in Odisha is as old as the religion itself.
“It was only after 1986, major Buddhist sites of Odisha like Lalitgiri, Languri and Udaygiri having many monuments likes stupas, chaityas and viharas were discovered. The Buddhist sites have a huge potential for promotion of tourism as well as to carry on research activities. The state government will continue its efforts to attract more tourists to these sites,” Patnaik said.
“The State government has taken tourism as a priority sector for economic growth. The Department of Tourism is participating in a series of Domestic and Overseas Tourism Events and Fairs, organizing road shows to make Odisha a preferred destination.” He added.
On air connectivity to the State, Patnaik said since Biju Patnaik Airport in the State capital has been accorded international status, it will facilitate flow of international travelers and tourists to Odisha. He added that tourism industry is an excellent employment multiplier.
Addressing the gathering State Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said ‘Odisha is bestowed with immense diversities and huge untapped potential for development of hospitality and tourism sector.’ He urged Sharma for single window clearance of tourism and hospitality sector development projects along with taking up dedicated projects under Central government schemes in Odisha. He further urged the Union Minister, who is in charge of Civil Aviation Ministry, to facilitate direct flights from Bhubaneswar to heritage cities like Varanasi as well as to States like Kerala and Goa which has been a long standing demand of Odisha.
Speaking on the FHRAI Golden Jubilee Convention, Tejinder Singh Walia, President FHRAI said, “It is a proud privilege for FHRAI that for the first time FHRAI convention is being held in a tier-II city in eastern India”. He added, “The three day convention will be significant nationally as it will discus, debate and deliberate upon the growth opportunities along with major issues concerning the industry in terms of policies, multiple taxation and possible impact of GST on the industry, inordinate delay in approvals and licensing conditions etc. The long standing demand on the industry to be accorded infrastructure status is also expected to gain prominence at this event.”
