Bhubaneswar: After signing an agreement with AirAsia for launching of direct flights to Kuala Lumpur from Biju Patnaik International Airport here, the state government has decided to prepare a policy for promoting tour packages to Southeast Asian countries in collaboration with the airlines.
This decision was taken at a meeting of Tourism Advisory Committee held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi here Tuesday.
It was decided at the meeting that new tour packages like Jagannath Trail, coastal trek, coastal cruise, cycle tours, food festivals and weekend gateways would be launched by Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC).
The state government has planned to brand Orissa tourism at the strategic places like airports, capitals (Bhubaneswar and Delhi), Mumbai metro and some other major tourism hubs. It would also be linked with upcoming major events in Topresa, Paris, FITUR, Singapore and Madrid, sources said.
Tourism director Nitin Bhanudas Jawale stated that like last year three pilgrimage trips would be organised for senior citizens during 2017-18 under Baristha Nagarika Tirthayatra Yojana.
Reviewing the progress made so far, Padhi directed the officials to expedite the processes for setting up of sand art museum at Puri. It was discussed in the meeting that sand art at Puri has started drawing increasing international attention in recent days and the museum should be set up at the earliest. He further advised the officials to allow the tourists to take part and practise the sand art in the museum.
Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan advised finance secretary TK Pandey to put up specific budget provision for this project.
Data shows there has been a steady increase in tourist footfall in the state over last seven years. In 2010, the total tourist footfall was around 76.41 lakh with 50,432 tourists from abroad. However, the footfall increased to 98.66 lakh with 66,675 overseas tourist in 2013 and by November 2016 the figure reached 1.10 crore with 67,108 tourists visiting the state from abroad.
During 2016-17, the department has successfully promoted Orissa Tourism in Ek Bharat Sresth Bharat grand event in Maharashtra, Kalinga Lancer and International Connectivity from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur. Ekamra Heritage walk has emerged as a popular activity of the department. Besides, the department has participated in four international events like JATA, Japan, International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Asia, World Tourism Market (WTM), London and ITB Berlin along with other 11 major national events. The department has also made its presence felt in social media with 4,80,000 twitter followers and 87,465 Facebook likes.
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