Naveen Patnaik inaugurates 2nd edition of 'Odisha Travel Bazar' to boost tourism potential

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the second edition of Odisha Travel Bazar to boost tourism of the state. Opening the event Friday, Patnaik said tourist arrival increased at a rate of 9 per cent per annum and the trend was continuing in the state. New tourism products like ethnic tourism, Ecotourism and Buddhist tourism were helping the state to attract more tourists every year. On air connectivity of the state, Patnaik said "in near future Air Asia will provide connectivity to international destinations.

Jharsuguda airport provides air connectivity to the tourist to the western part of Odisha and it will also helpful for the state to increase tourist numbers in coming years." The three-day mega event, organised by the state tourism department and FICCI, witnessed participation of 60 foreign tour operators (FTO) from 23 countries and 16 leading DTOs (domestic tour operators), official sources said. The invited Foreign Tour Operators (FTOs) Domestic Tour Operators (DTOs) took pre-event Familiarization (FAM) Trips from Oct 2-4, 2018 in different tourist locations of the state to experience the richness and vibrancy of the state.

Three different FAM trips circuits have been identified for this purpose and those were (a) Bhubaneswar Puri Konark Lalitgiri-Ratnagiri-Bhitarkanika; (b) Bhubaneswar Konark Puri Chilika Gopalpur Bhubaneswar and (c) Bhubaneswar Rayagada Jeypore Onkadeli Bhubaneswar. The department of tourism has given emphasis on Heritage, Culture and Tribal tourism, Buddhist tourism, Art & Craft, Eco & Wildlife tourism and Pilgrimage tourism, the officials said.

(With inputs from agencies.)