The Samikhsya Bureau
Bhubaneswar: Following Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s recent announcement for reopening of state’s tourism and hospitality sector in the ongoing Covid situation, the Department of Tourism deliberated on “Facing the New Normal – Opening up Hotels, Restaurants &other Hospitality Units in Odisha” during a meet hosted here on Wednesday in association with the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management (IITTM), Bhubaneswar.
Addressing the occasion, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy urged upon the industry and government stakeholders to work unitedly towards personalisation of services, professionalisation of practices and privatisation of facilities.
“When we unitedly resolve and do not compromise on due diligence and aim for premium quality, we will ensure our presence on the global tourism map. It must be the effort of each one of us to convince tourists through our campaigns and our measures that Odisha is completely safe”, he pointed out.
Commissioner cum Secretary Tourism Vishal Dev dwelt upon the strategic measures undertaken by the Department of Tourism during the period of pandemic.
“Realising the importance of maximising the experience for domestic tourists so as to dominate the market, we have been working tirelessly to operationalise new products like houseboats, river cruises and development of road tourism infrastructure.
Eco-retreats will be organised at Bhitarkanika, Daringbadi, Hirakud, Satkosia and Konark.
Our key objective is to popularise underexplored destinations throughout the state through such events that have already established its brand nationally”, he elaborated.
Chairman of Hotels & Restaurants Association of Odisha (HRAO) J K Mohanty, who participated in the deliberation, congratulated the state government for its proactive control of the pandemic through institutional responsiveness and for being the foremost state to have conducted such a vast and inclusive awareness outreach campaign on Covid-19 risk mitigation and revival training for the tourism and hospitality sector.
