The Department of Tourism (DoT), Government of Odisha in it’s bid to attract domestic tourists from an important source State Karnataka organised its road show in the Silicon city of India Bengaluru on Friday October 24. The objective is to promote the state & its variety of tourism products in the South West part of India and double the number of tourists from the state.
“Odisha drew around one lakh visitors from Karnataka in 2013. The roadshow is part of eight events organised by the department across the country to attract domestic tourists. We want to increase the number of tourists visiting Odisha from Karnataka. We are already seeing a large number of IT professionals from Bangalore visiting locations in our State. With various heritage sites, wildlife sanctuary and beaches, Odisha offers an amazing experience for tourists,” said Ashok Kumar Tarenia, Director of Tourism, Odisha government.
The major highlight of the roadshow was Odissi dance performance by Madhulita Mohapatra and troupe from Bangalore .
Located on the eastern coast of the country, Odisha is a tourists’ paradise and has many stunning destinations which offer a visual feast to the tourists & visitors. It also throws an educative and culturally pleasing insight into one of the oldest civilizations of the World. The road show will benefit and provide information on Odisha Tourism to the tour lovers, tour operators, travel agents, travel writers, journalists, decision makers etc. Odisha is famous for its golden beaches, sprawling lakes, luxuriant forests, teeming wildlife, majestic temples & monuments, Buddhist sites, exotic handloom & handicrafts, primitive tribes, colourful fairs and festivals and the scintillating music, dances & cuisine which attract large number of tourists.
Odisha drew about Ten million tourists during the year 2013 from India and Abroad.. Most of the Domestic tourists were from the State of Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pardesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
“Travel to Odisha is truly an amazing experience that attracts people from all parts of the world for its sculptural and artistic heritage. The Sun Temple at Konark, a UNESCO Heritage site, The Temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri, one of the four cardinal centres for Hindus (Char Dhams) of India and temple city of Bhubaneswar are important and popular tourist destinations. The Buddhist heritage of Odisha comprising of Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri-Udayagiri-Langudi and Dhauli attracts tourists from overseas and domestic front.” Said Mr Utkal K Pati, Deputy Director, Tourism Department, Odisha Government.
“Apart from these, Odisha has successfully nurtured three great religions like Buddhism, Jainism & Hinduism. The DoT is also organising a number of Tourism events like Konark Festival (1st – 5th December), International Sand Art Festival (1st – 5th December), Parab Tribal Festival (16 – 18 November), Dhanu Yatra Festival (Dec – Jan) Rajarani Music Festival (18 – 20 January), Mukteswar Dance Festival (14 – 16 January) etc. to attract more of domestic and international tourists.” Said Shri P. K. Behera, Joint Director ,Odisha Tourism .
“Odisha tourism also plans to add two new Tourism circuits in Odhisha on the lines of Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark golden triangle . These two new tourism circuits are Kuldiha-Similipal-Bhitarkanika-Panchlingeswar-Chandipur-Talsari circuit and Malkangiri-Jeypore-Nabarangpur-Koraput-Rayagada-Daringibadi- Chandragiri-Taptapani circuit.” Said Mr Behera.
