Tag Archives: Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government

The Odisha Tourism department is working towards releasing a new tourism policy for the state by 2020, informed, VishalKumar Dev, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Tourist Department, Government of Odisha. He also said that the department is looking to aggressively promote water sports activities and recreational projects in the state as well as introducing houseboats at the popular tourist destinations like Chilika and Bhitarkanika. “The government is mulling out plans to revise the existing tourism policy, we will be ready with the new policy by next year. The government has been aggressively promoting water sports and recreational tourism in the state. We are laying focus on niche tourism segments such as houseboats tourism, which seamlessly mingles with ecotourism water recreation. We shall strive to synergize the various segments of water-based tourism as a sustainable segment. The state has embarked on a project to diversify its tourism offering by exploring the potential of its waterbodies, wetlands and coastline,” revealed Dev at the Odisha Tourism roadshow organised in Delhi. With the tourism sector contributing 13 per cent to Odisha’s GDP, the tourist inflow CAGR was recorded 9.1 percent during 2013 to 2017. The state government is expecting 2.4 crore tourist in 2020-21, up from 1.5 crore in 2018. Besides, the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) has also proposed the government to start cruise service in Chilika Lake in association with Forest and Environment and Tourism department.

Odisha Tourism continues to enhance its digital strategy to encourage tourist inflow with a six-month content partnership agreement with TripAdvisor. Under this agreement, TripAdvisor has created a microsite with an entire inventory of places to visit in Odisha, as well as things to do, events and other travel information for global travellers to discover Odisha online. The site also includes campaign branding by Odisha Tourism which is also the host partner of one of the country’s marquee sporting event – Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. The reach covers India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and UK. Vishal Dev, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Odisha Tourism, said, “It’s great to have a global name like TripAdvisor on board to help us get more travellers to Odisha especially in the coming months when the state will be buzzing with activities across all sectors. We are also host partner of the Men’s Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar and are expecting substantial foreign footfall. We want to leverage TripAdvisor’s global network and strong understanding of regional travel trade and market nuances, to shape and spur growth in this region.” Sarah Mathews, Head of Destination Marketing for Asia Pacific said, TripAdvisor, said, “We are glad to have the opportunity to work with Odisha Tourism to ensure that travellers who consider visiting India will not only visit its popular destinations but go beyond and experience all that Odisha has to offer.”