OdishaPlus Bureau
Bhubaneswar will host the fourth edition of the ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’ from October 28 to 30 to showcase the tourism potential of the state before the domestic as well as global audience and reinforce ‘Brand Odisha’ in the post-Covid times.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the three-day mega tourism promotion event which is being organized by the Department of Tourism in partnership with FICCI.
Leading tour operators from home and abroad along with key stakeholders from the tourism industry, both domestic and foreign, and various state government officials associated with the tourism sector will be participating in the gala event.
“Odisha is endowed with abundant tourism potential. The objective of organizing the ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’ is precisely to attract tourists both from home and abroad to visit and explore those. At the event, we are going to showcase the facilities and services available for our guests,” said state Tourism Minister Ashwini Kumar Patra at a press conference on Wednesday while announcing the event.
Shedding lights on the various facets of state tourism, Patra said along with ethnic, religious & cultural tourism, the state government is also giving priority to niche segments like eco tourism, beach tourism and sports tourism. “Sports tourism is one of our priority areas. The Men’s Hockey World Cup tournament will be hosted simultaneously at two major cities: Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, in January 2023. This will serve as an opportunity to expand our Sports Tourism sector further as teams, spectators and fans from both home and abroad will converge in the state during the mega international tournament,” he added.
The first, second and third editions of ‘Odisha Travel Bazaar’ were successfully organized in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. It was postponed for the last two years on account of the Covid pandemic situation. However, the event, aimed at promoting the state tourism sector and give boost to ‘Brand Odisha’ globally, is back once again this year following improvement in the pandemic situation.
“The primary objective of Odisha Travel Bazaar is to bring the buyers (leading domestic and international tour operators) and sellers (stakeholders in the state tourism sector including hoteliers & tour operators) to an integrated platform. Our focus is to promote and publicize destination tourism related to the state’s culture, tribal heritage, Buddhist heritage, handicraft, handloom, ecology along with wildlife and places of religious significance,” said Principal Secretary, Tourism, Surendra Kumar.
A series of B2B meetings between hoteliers and tour operators from the state and tour operators from home and abroad, along with B2G meetings with the state government, have been scheduled at the event. The meetings will focus on the promotion of Odisha tourism products at national and international levels in order to attract more tourists to the destinations in the state.
The participating foreign and domestic tour operators will be taken on FAM trips to familarise them with the various tourist destinations and resources in the state.
“The main focus of this edition of Odisha Travel Bazaar is to promote domestic tourism. For the purpose we have invited more Domestic Tour Operators (DTO) this time. The event will help strengthen and bolster tourism sector in the state,” said Co-Chairman FICCI Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee & FICCI Domestic Tourism Committee & CMD Swosti Group of Hotels J K Mohanty.
25 Foreign Tour Operators (FTO) from countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam will be taking part in ‘Travel Bazaar Odisha 2022’.
Similarly, 83 Domestic Tour Operators (DTO) from cities like Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Cochi, Chandigarh, Chandrapur, Chennai, Dehradun, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mangalgiri, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, New Delhi, Pune, Panjim, Raipur, Rohtak, Siliguri, Surendra Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam will be participating in the three-day event.
Informing about the event, Director, Tourism Department Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, said, “The Odisha government is taking pro-active steps for the promotion of tourism sector in the state. Facilities of Home Stay, Boat House and Eco Retreat have been created for the convenience of tourists. Odisha has become an attractive tourist destination for people across the country.”
OSD Anshuman Rath and other officials related to the state tourism sector were among those present at the press conference.
The Odisha Travel Bazaar is poised to enhance the tourism sector of the state and help promote Odisha as a major tourist destination globally. The development of the sector will ensure sustainable livelihood for locals and result in the massive promotion of the art, culture and heritage of Odisha.
Tags: #OdishaTravelBazaar #OTB2022 #TravelBazaar #OdishaTourism #Odisha #Touristdestination #OdishaHeritage
Hello Folks,
I Sashi from Yatra Tours & Travels would like to join this travel bazaar. So, we would like to know where it is going to happen.