Tourism body seeks better infrastructure to woo tourists to Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Hotel and restaurant association of Odisha (HRAO), an apex body of hoteliers in the state, here on Friday organised Odisha tourism conclave and gave a series of proposals to the state government for promotion of tourism sector in the state. Some of the key recommendations are development adequate tourism infrastructure, improvement of air connectivity, vibrant marketing and promotional campaigns through roadshows and social media platforms.

Inaugurating the conclave’s third edition, governor Ganeshi Lal said any tourist would be impressed by the rich tourism potential of Odisha. HRAO’s chairman J K Mohanty said the state government should develop better infrastructure to attract tourists. “We urged the government to prepare a masterplan for tourism development through research and studies. Good quality accommodation, roads, railways and airports are required to make destinations accessible to tourists,” Mohanty told media persons.

HRAO said attractive tourist destinations of Odisha can be marketed globally through blog posts, podcasts, videos and e-newsletters on social media. “We have proposed to the tourism department to appoint a separate digital marketing team to promote Odisha,” Mohanty said.

The HRAO said Odisha lacks good quality tourist guides, especially in foreign languages like French, German, Chinese, Italian and Spanish. The hospitality body said emphasis should be given on skill development of available human resources to cater to the needs of foreign tourists. Sources said nearly 1.4 crore domestic and one lakh foreign tourists visited Odisha last year.

State tourism secretary Vishal Dev said the state government has been taking efforts to boost the tourism sector. “We admit that a lot more need to be done in the tourism industry. We lack star and luxurious hotels at important tourist destinations. District collectors have been asked to identify land for hotel purpose so that we can create land bank and invite entrepreneurs and big brands to set up hotels in Odisha,” Dev said.

State home secretary Asit Tripathy, who was present at the conclave, laid stress on cleanliness of beaches, temples and heritage sites. “We have vast coastline, water bodies and natural resources to attract tourists. Basic amenities like good hotels, recreation activities, toilets and other infrastructure should be provided at tourist destinations for the convenience of visitors,” Tripathy said.