Bhubaneswar: The Mohan Majhi government attracted investment intents worth Rs 8,155 crore, promoting Odisha for destination weddings and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) tourism.
These proposals received at Utkarsh Odisha – Make in Odisha Conclave 2025 on Wednesday pertain to luxury hotels, resorts, adventure and amusement parks, convention centres, cruise and water sports projects with the state positioning itself to become a premier hub for high-profile weddings and business events, rivalling the likes of Rajasthan’s royal cities, Goa and Kerala.
Popular beach towns such as Puri and Konark in Puri district and Gopalpur in Ganjam district are being promoted as sites for destination weddings, big meetings and conferences.
“Odisha offers a unique blend of cultural heritage, natural beauty and modern amenities, but has never been marketed, instead preserved as India’s best-kept secret. Which is why we decided to promote the state as a preferred destination for MICE and destination weddings. Keeping with the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pitch India for concert economy, we are also planning to set up infrastructure to host big concerts that can give a boost to tourism in Odisha. This is the perfect time for further investment in the state’s tourism sector,” said Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida.
She assured the investors that there will be no bottlenecks in starting projects in the state.
The proposals are as follows:
Rs 2,387 crore for development of 23 resort projects in Koraput, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Puri, Khurda, Bhadrak and Balasore,
47 hotel projects with investment commitments totalling Rs 3,792 crore in Puri, Sambalpur, Paradip, Gopalpur, Ganjam and Bhubaneswar.
30 motel and wayside amenities centres projects worth Rs 246 crore
Nine water sports and cruise projects worth Rs 554 crore in Puri, Khurda, Chilika, Sundargarh and Cuttack and Rs 23-crore four adventure sports initiatives in Koraput and Sundargarh.
Commitments worth Rs 1,060 crore for multi-utility hospitality centres.
Investment intents worth Rs 58 crore and Rs 2.95 crore for caravan and camping tourism respectively.
“Odisha tourism has earmarked 5,570 acres of investible land in the 15 priority destinations and is in the process of verification and acquisition progress,” said Tourism secretary Balwant Singh
Odisha tourism also signed an MoU with the National Council of Science Museums for enriching the state’s cultural tourism by developing new museums and interpretation centres.
