Bhubaneswar: Odisha government will soon create a land bank of 1,000 acres and attract more investment in hotel industry to develop tourism sector, Tourism Secretary Mona Sharma said today.
With the state witnessing growth of more than nine percent in Tourism sector, the state government is stressing more on development of hotel industry. In this regard, the government will be auctioning 10 identified plots for construction of hotels in Bhubaneswar.
Briefing mediapersons after a review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary AP Padhi, Sharma said within a week the details of the auction will be released. "The offset price of the plots is available at IPR rate and we are looking at good hotel players to participate in the auction," she said.
Odisha has recorded a footfall of around 1.4 crore tourists last year. Similarly, there has been a substantial increase in the number of foreign tourists to Odisha and statistics indicate that it has crossed 1 lakh mark.
Events like Travel Bazaar and other conventions organized by different associations have given a big boost to the sector, Sharma said.
President of Hotel & Restaurant Association of Orissa, Jitendra Mohanty who was also present during the meeting said Odisha will organise road shows on 10 chosen countries including Germany and UK from where it attracts more number of tourists every year.
"Since Odisha does not have E-Visa facility for foreign tourists so the state government has said that it will take necessary steps in this regard to make VISA application hassle free for tourists especially from foreign countries. Besides, as part of adequate measures for developing Eco tourism sector its online portal is being revamped to make it more user-friendly for tourists. Forest guest houses, bungalows which were earlier only reserved for departmental use are now being opened for tourists and these steps would definitely boost tourism," Mohanty said.
Similarly, tour operator Benjamin Simon stated all stake holders are serious about growth of tourism and will extend all possible help to the government.