By Our Correspondent
KONARK/BHUBANESWAR: The 2nd Day of the Odisha Travel Bazaar witnessed industry stakeholder roundtable, B2G meetings with the investors and structured meetings between 70 DTOs and 50 plus sellers from Odisha. Pre FAM TRIPS were scheduled for Foreign Tour Operators to Eco Retreat Bhitarkanika and Satkosia.
A panel discussion on Connecting Forces: Public-Private Synergy for Odisha’s Tourism Growth & Success was conducted among industry leaders on the Day-2 of #5thOdishaTravelBazaar2024. VP- Corporate Affairs & Business Development, IHCL (Taj) Dinesh Chadha, MD, A.T. Seasons & Vacations Travel Pvt. Ltd Shri Amaresh Tiwari, COO Yatra Krishan Singh, SVP & Head Corp. Affairs & Communications MakeMyTrip Shri Sameer Bajaj, Area Manager Partner Services, Booking.com Shri Birendra Singh, CEO, Sea Horse Hospitality Consulting Sandeep Roy, Development Manager Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Shri Siddhartha Kochhar, Managing Director, The Crown IHCL SeleQtions Shri Debasish Patanaik, President and Director, Mayfair Hotels & Resorts Manoj Kumar Gouda, Director MGM Resorts and MGM Group Siddhartha Mohanty and Managing Director, Vikash Eco Resort Pvt Ltd Valluri Srinivas, Shri Navajyoti Patnaik, Director, Pravat Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. were a part of the Interactive Industry.
On the inaugural ceremony on Day 2 of 5th Odisha Travel Bazaar, Hon’ble Tourism Minister Shri Aswini Kumar Patra spoke on the diverse tourism offerings of Odisha and highlighted Chief Minister Shri Patnaik’s vision due to which the State has seen unprecedented growth in the recent years with respect to creation of tourism infrastructure and substantial increase in budget for development of tourism.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Day-2, Chief Advisor to CMO Shri Suresh Mohapatra, IAS quoted, “Odisha as a tourist destination offers world class infrastructure and diversified product portfolio suiting the tastes of all kinds of travellers. I welcome tourists to explore India’s best kept secret.”
Highlighting Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik’s focus on developing tourism infrastructure of the State Chairman Odisha Tourism Development Corporation Shri Lenin Mohanty expounded on the various heritage corridor development projects being undertaken by the State at Puri, Bhubaneswar, Taptapani, and Sambalpur amongst others. He spoke about the importance of the tour operators and travel agents’ fraternity and how their participation in this event will enable many business opportunities and offer a bouquet of exciting tourist destinations and experiences for the travel community.
On this occasion, Director-Tourism Shri Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav made a presentation to the Foreign Tour Operators on Odisha Tourism’s initiatives for promotion of the State including new and innovative products such as Eco Retreats, Boat Clubs, Yachts, Caravans, Camping etc. to lure the new-age travellersacross the globe to the State.
A cultural programme showcasing Odisha’s performing arts such as Odissi, Chhau and Sambalpuri folk dance was organized post the interactive session.
55 Foreign Tour operators from across 16 countries like Belgium, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and Vietnam are participating in the Day 2 and Day 3 of the event. A B2B session with the Domestic Tour Operators and a Familiarization Trip to tourist destinations like Bhubaneswar, Konark, Puri, Bhitarkanika and Satkosia are also planned.
