Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda on Thursday urged the Centre to take steps for international flight operations between Odisha and other eastern region States and South Asian and South-East Asian countries for development of tourism.
Panda placed this demand while speaking at the inaugural meeting of the three-day South-Asian Tourism and Travel Enclave (SATTE) at New Delhi. He said not only the number of foreign tourists would be increased but also opportunities of trade would be created if international flights start operating form eastern States to these countries.
It may be noted that the number of foreign tourists to the State is increasing every year. While nearly 42,000 tourists visited the State in 2008-09, the number increased to 67,500 in 2013-14.