SME Times News Bureau | 23 Oct, 2020
Minister
of Tourism of Odisha Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi on Thursdaysaid that effective
coordination between the centre, states and union territories is must in order
to revive the Indian tourism industry, post-pandemic.
Addressing 'Odisha
Tourism Virtual Roadshows - 2020' webinar, organized by FICCI, Panigrahi said
that since people are less likely to travel by air or train during the COVID
times, the Government of Odisha has launched the 'Odisha by Road' campaign,
which aims to provide an opportunity by travelling through the beautiful roads.
"The
'Odisha by Road campaign' intends to encourage tourists from within the state
as well as from the neighbouring states to travel to various tourist
destinations in Odisha through excellent network of roads. Through this
campaign, we will promote some beautiful yet not so popular places of
attraction which would be further facilitated by the Tourism Department,"
said Panigrahi.
Highlighting
the award-winning initiatives of eco-tourism and nature camps, Panigrahi said,
"Capitalising on the success of the first edition of Eco Retreat - A
luxury camping project of the Tourism department, is all set to be
implemented in five locations this year.”
“We
are taking up a few mega projects which have been in the pipeline for a long
time and assure to provide full support to the tourism sector," he
added.
Vishal
Kumar Dev, Commissioner - cum - Secretary, Tourism Department and Sports and
Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha said that government and
private sector needs to find innovative ideas to revive India's tourism sector
in post-pandemic phase. The challenge is to ensure safety and to provide
accommodation without any fear of virus attack.
"There is a huge latent demand for travel
and the challenge is to tackle this demand to travel safely and
efficiently," he said.
The
secretary further stated that MoUs would be signed with neighbouring states to
promote interstate road trips.
Speaking
on the development of the State, Dev said that the state has been a
leading reformer and Odisha's development is not just limited to industries but
in the last 20 years, it has attained development in every sphere.
"Our
idea is to promote Odisha as a safe travel destination, and the initiatives
like 'The Odisha by Road' campaign and nature camps will take the
travellers beyond the temples and beaches by converting the state's
tourism ecosystem into a treasure trove," said Dev.