Bhubaneswar: In a bid to develop sports tourism in the state ahead of Hockey Men’s World Cup to be held here, Odisha Tourism showcased its tourism potential with its Konark-themed decorated stall at the 53rd Annual Convention of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) held in Lucknow.
The tagline of the event was ‘Look within India’ and ‘Odisha Tourism, the soul of Incredible India.’
Participating in the programme, state Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev said, “This year the theme of World Tourism Day is ‘Tourism and the Digital Transformation’ and our focus is to make the state digital friendly. Bhubaneswar is already known as the numero uno Smart City of the country. It is the only Indian city to win the prestigious American Pierre L’Enfant International Planning Award and the only Indian city to be ranked among the world’s best performing Smart Cities by British marketing agency Juniper Research. We are further bolstering our efforts to improve the infrastructure in the state to attract more investors and tourists.”
Odisha Tourism is further celebrating its association of being a host partner of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 as part of which the stalls were graced with Odisha Tourism’s World Cup campaign ‘Odisha by Morning, Hockey by Evening.’
“This year is a marquee year for Odisha Tourism as we celebrate being the host partner of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. We are pushing the agenda of sports tourism in the country by coming up with campaigns such as ‘Odisha by Morning, Hockey by Evening’ which is being lauded both nationally and internationally. The main aim of the campaign is to enlighten people about various tourist spots which they can visit during the morning and on off-days. Events such as FHRAI are extremely important as they give us an opportunity to showcase our tourism potential to everyone,” Dev added.
Earlier, Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera said that the Odisha government is gearing up to develop sports tourism in the light of Men’s Hockey World Cup that is to be held at Kalinga Stadium from November 28 to December 16, 2018. Odisha Tourism is also planning roadshows across 17 cities starting September 27 to promote sports tourism in the state.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had launched ‘My Heart Beats for Hockey’ campaign at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. This campaign aims to spread the passion and love for the game of hockey. The Tourism department is expecting a footfall of around 40,000 tourists from abroad during the Hockey World Cup. The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with OYO Rooms to accommodate the tourists.