Third Odisha Tourism Conclave kick starts

Third Odisha Tourism Conclave, organised by Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), kick starts in Bhubaneswar. Governor Ganeshi Lal inaugurated the conclave at 10 am in the presence Rajya Sabha MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Additional Chief Secretary Home Asit Kumar Tripathy, and Tourism & Sports Secretary Vishal Dev.

In Travel and Tourism, sector more than 50 per cent of the bookings are done online, said J K Mohanty, Chairman, HRAO in his welcome speech.

“The government is working on long term plans to bring in strategic investment into the Tourism sector with the participation of the private sector. While a number of infrastructure related issues like roads, electricity, water, etc., have been settled, many destinations like Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark, etc., are short of star-category accommodation especially at the higher end of the travel segment,” said Vishal Dev, Commissioner-cum-Secretary – Tourism, Government of Odisha.

Realising this shortfall, the state government has identified land banks in places like Bhubaneswar for private builders to come and invest in building hotels. “Five new hotels are in different stages of construction in Bhubaneswar in three to five-star categories,” said Vishal.