Tag Archives: Odisha

Pride Group of Hotels has opened its latest resort in Puri in Odisha named Pride Ananya Resort Puri. The 80-room property offers resort-style accommodation with a beautiful oceanfront. It is a walk from Puri beach and offers a pool, restaurants, a business centre, and spa among other offerings. The Pride Group currently has properties in Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Nagpur, Kolkata, Aerocity Delhi, Ahmedabad, Goa, Jaipur, Vadodara and Dharamshala and now Puri.

A high-level government delegation inaugurated the 33rd IATO Annual Convention in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, at Mayfair Convention Centre. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Alphons Kannanthanam, Odisha’s Minister of Tourism and Culture Ashok Chandra Panda and Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma were present during the inauguration. They announced that the 34th IATO convention will be held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Tourism Secretary spoke about the new campaign that the Government of India will announce soon. Called ‘Adopt a Heritage’ the campaign is aimed at the corporate and private sector to adopt a heritage monument in association with ASI.

The 33rd Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Convention will be held from September 7-10, 2017 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Revealing this was N.S. Rathor, Chairman, Western Region IATO and Regional Chapter Chairman, who said, “The Minister Tourism and Culture, Government of Odisha, Ashok Chandra Panda, had attended our previous convention in Chennai and he was very keen for us to have our next convention in Orissa. As soon as he returned to Orissa, he spoke to his CM and they suggested the dates. It will be held either at Hotel Swosti or Mayfair Lagoon. Our team will visit the city soon for a recce. We had done our convention in Orissa in 2008 as well and since then the state has seen tourism grow. So the government is very keen to have the convention again.” He added that the main selling point in Orissa has been its tribal tours which is very niche and will appeal only to a few tourists who are interested. “Moreover, the accommodation available is basic, requires a lot of travelling and accessibility isn’t that great. For us though, it was an eye-opener. The people in Orissa are very nice, very warm. We travelled extensively in the area during our past convention and realised the destination has a lot of potential,” Rathor said.

Stayzilla signed a MoU with the Tourism Department of Odisha in order to provide online booking facilities and promote homestays in various tourist places across the state. Stayzilla has tied up with around 80 homestay accommodations in the state and the facilities will start functioning from Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri in the first phase. “The tie-up would meet the shortage of rooms in accommodation sector in budget category and bridge the infrastructure gap,” said Nitin Jawale, Tourism Director, Government of Odisha. Ankit Rastogi, Vice President, Stayzilla, informed, “Odisha has huge potential as a tourism destination. Apart from promoting safe homestay facilities Stayzilla will jointly promote various tourist places of the state and its unique culture and food. We work as facilitators and ensure safety and quality stay for tourists. Stayzilla will provide an application to all homestay owners that will function without internet facilities where they can upload all details which people across the globe can see and book online. We have plans to start operation in important destinations like Raghurajpur and Nuapatna and will also go to tribal hinterlands soon.” Source: Times of India

The 33rd IATO Convention will be held in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, next year. This was announced during the opening ceremony of IATO Convention in Chennai, being held from Sept 18-20. Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister Tourism and Culture, Government of Odisha, revealed that the proposal is in final stages and all details will be finalised in the next 2-3 days.

Odisha received a total of 1,18,53,088 (11.8 million) tourists in 2015, registering a growth rate of 9 per cent, said Utpal K. Pati, Deputy Director, Department of Tourism, Odisha. While 66,971 foreign tourist arrivals were recorded, 1,17,86,117 domestic tourists visited the state in 2015, he said during the state’s roadshow in New Delhi held on March 29. “We are mainly targeting the domestic market, especially tourists from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and will be organising roadshows all over India. The other agenda is to improve connectivity to the region and involve more airlines to start direct flights to Odisha. Since Bhubaneshwar airport recently started operating to international destinations, we are hoping to see a growth of about 7-8 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals this year. We are also aggressively promoting the Buddhist circuit as numerous ancient Buddhist sites are located in the state,” informed Pati. The state tourism department is going orgainse 10 roadshows in the country this year.