Odisha Govt Plans Post-Lockdown Revival Of Tourism Sector, To Focus On Domestic Tourism And Eco-Retreats

Bhubaneswar: With 10 days to go for Lockdown 3.0 to end, the Odisha government is gearing up to revive the economy.

One of the key areas being identified is to rejuvenate the tourism sector, both in rural and urban areas.

A high-level meeting, under the chairmanship of the state’s chief secretary Asit Tripathy was held at Lokseva Bhawan on Thursday, where tourism secretary Vishal Dev presented proposed activities for discussion.

After reviewing the present scenario, Tripathy directed the tourism Dev to bring domestic tourism under core focus in the post-lockdown phase, as this segment is expected to revive faster than international tourism.

The tourism department was directed to bring out packages for promoting intra-state tourism.

Tripathy also suggested proactive steps be taken immediately for attracting private investment in the hospitality and tourism sector, particularly at key tourist locations.

Following are destinations in Odisha which will be given special attention for post-lockdown tourism revival:

1) Rambha and Satpada clusters in Chilika, Bhitarkanika national park, Chandrabhaga beach front development and Talsari beach front development

2) Explore possibilities of developing Eco-Retreat 2020 hubs in Daringibadi, Debrigarh, Satkosia, Konark and Mahanadi Riverbed between Naraj and Dhabaleswar.

3) Comprehensive development of Buddhist circuit and Shamuka Project

4) Feasibility of rolling out schemes for promotion of home stay, heritage hospitality,  houseboats, beach shacks etc to be studied

5) Odisha Tourism road shows to be held in cities like Kolkata, Ranchi, Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg-Bhilai, Jamshedpur, Bokaro.

Tripathy said detailed operational plans, involving various government agencies and key stakeholders, should be worked out.

“A special campaign will be taken up to promote Odisha tourism through Odia cuisine and organizing Odia food festivals across six metros along with the roadshows,” Dev informed.