Foreigners make beeline for Puri, Konark

Bhubaneswar: Foreign nationals, who have arrived to watch the men’s hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, are exploring nearby places like Puri, Konark, Mangalajodi and different places in the city.
Benjamin Simon, a leading tour operator of the state, said his group is managing the itinerary of people from Wales and South Africa.
He said a group of 17 people from Wales has been using their services to watch hockey matches at Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium at Rourkela and go to Ranchi in Jharkhand district.
They are the relatives of the Wales men’s national hockey team. They will arrive at Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, he added.
Similarly, other tour operators are getting bookings from foreigners.
Balaram Patra, owner of a tour and travels group, said the foreigners usually visit Godibari nature camp at Chandaka, Kala Bhoomi Odisha Crafts Museum in the city, Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves, take the Heritage Walk, visit Ekamra Haat and attend different programmes organised in the capital city. They also visit marketplaces to purchase handlooms and handicrafts of Odisha, he added.
Besides Bhubaneswar, he said, they visit Sakhigopal, Raghurajpur, Puri and Konark.
Alok Kumar Maharana, chief of a tour and travels company, said tourists and hockey fans are likely to visit nearby places in their free time. At the end of the World Cup, many of them may explore places in Puri and Bhubaneswar before leaving the state, he added.
A tour operator said the foreign nationals love art, craft, heritage and ancient monuments. “As they want to return before the hockey matches start at Kalinga Stadium, we take them to Puri, Konark, Mangalajodi, Barkul and other places. These places can be covered within the limited time,” he added.
The tour operators said they are interested in taking them to Koraput, Satkosia, Similipal and Bhitarkanika, but the foreigners want short trips due to the matches.
After two years of slowdown in the tourism sector due to Covid, the World Cup has helped them get foreign and domestic tourists again. “We are happy to get these bookings during the hockey World Cup,” said Prakash Kumar Panda, a tour operator.