Bhubaneswar: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) has thanked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for proposing the Centre to set up an international airport in Puri to boost tourism sector.
The HRAO hoped that the state government would create the required infrastructure for the project with the state-of-the-art technology. “The international airport in Puri will attract large number of Hindus residing in other countries to the coastal city and Odisha. Besides, the airport will enable people from other states to get flight access to the land of Lord Jagannath,” said the association in a letter to the Chief Minister Sunday.
The association also urged the state government to take necessary steps to declare the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath as a national holiday. “The initiative will help attracting more devotees and tourists from across the country to Odisha. In the process Puri will definitely become a hub for spiritual tourism,” said the HRAO letter by its chairman JK Mohanty.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has a vision to turn Puri into an international hub for spiritualism and tourism and develop the coastal city as a major attraction in eastern India, the association said.
The HRAO claimed that Odisha has huge tourism potential in terms of art, crafts, culture, cuisines, beaches, lakes, mountains and tribes. This apart, Odisha is well-known for mangrove forests at Bhitarkanika and rich temple architecture.
The association has suggested the state government to take steps to create additional 5,000 classified hotel rooms in Odsiha to compete with the hotel infrastructure of the other states of India. It also pleaded for direct flight connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Bodhgaya and Bhubaneswar and Varanasi to attract tourists and Buddhist traffic to the state.
The HRAO also suggested the state government to promote water sports in Chilika lake to attract more tourists to Odisha. The association lauded the state government and the Chief Minister for the initiative to beautify the surroundings of Srimandir and develop Puri as a heritage city.
“The state government is taking steps to make Odisha as the sports capital of India. Besides, the state has become as a preferred destination for investors,” said the letter.
