Odisha Travel Bazaar to begin today with focus on increasing int’l tourists

BHUBANESWAR : Odisha Travel Bazaar, the flagship event of the Tourism department, will this year witness a congregation of over 100 national and international tour operators and other stakeholders. The three-day event organised by the department in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will take place from February 7 to 9 at the Konark eco retreat this year. Informing this to mediapersons on Tuesday, additional chief secretary of Tourism department Surendra Kumar said the event is aimed at bringing national and international travel and tour operators and destination management companies under one platform to let them explore the state’s tourism products and collaborate on taking them to various domestic and international markets. As many as 55 foreign tour operators from 16 countries including South Africa, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Singapore, Spain and 70 domestic tour operators from 18 states will take part in the event as prospective buyers. Close to 3,000 business to business (B2B) meetings between the tourism fraternity of the state with domestic and foreign tour operators will be held over the three days, said director of tourism Sachin R Yadhav. Speaking on the occasion, head of Hotels and Restaurants Association of Odisha, JK Mohanty said the tourist footfall in the state almost doubled in 2022 from what it was in 2021. “We have been organising travel bazaar since 2017 and its benefits are being seen now. The footfall of domestic tourists increased to 78,67,909 in 2022 from 37,42,221 in 2021. And many national hotel chains are in Odisha already and several international hotel chains have also applied for permission to set up their properties,” he said. Sports and religious tourism are the highlights of Odisha now, he added.