Are you ready for some ‘Turtle Tourism’ in Odisha?

Yes, you heard it right! Odisha is calling you to have a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime turtle tourism experience. Recently, a turtle festival was conducted at Puri beach with an aim to promote eco-tourism and help conserve Olive Ridley turtles.

Odisha has 90 per cent of India’s turtle population and it also boasts of being home to half of the world’s Olive Ridley turtle population. The organizers of the turtle festival are planning to conduct this festival, by giving importance to tourism. This year, they have involved tourists as well as locals in the festival, which came out to be a very appealing and fruitful one.

The festival featured events, such as sand art, painting exhibition, and stalls that showcased regional artefacts. The artificial turtle hatcheries, which were constructed by the forest officials to protect the eggs, can also be used to woo more and more tourists.

At present, tourists flock the beaches of Mexico, Australia and Sri Lanka to see the turtles paying a hefty amount. With Odisha in the picture, the authorities are hoping they can attract a good number of tourists to the state.