Foreign tourist arrivals in Odisha less than 1% of national total

Bhubaneswar: Less than one percent of total foreign tourists coming to the country visited Odisha in 2017, informed Culture and Tourism Minister Ashok Panda in Assembly today.

Replying to a query from BJP MLA Dilip Ray and BJD MLA Prashant Kumar Jagdev, Panda stated only 1.14 lakh foreign tourists visited Odisha which is 0.98% of the total tourist inflow from aboard to India last year.

However, the number was double the arrivals as compared to 2010. Only 50,432 foreign tourists came to Odisha in 2010, Panda added.

Tourism contributed 10.66% to the Gross State Domestic Product in 2017 as against 13.42% in 2010.

Sources said the State government’s road shows and other programmes to promote tourism outside Odisha have failed to attract foreign tourists.