In order to promote tourism and attract more tourists, the State Government on Thursday decided to create basic amenities and other infrastructure like road communication and accommodation on a priority basis.
Though many identified tourist centers have the potential to attract domestic as well as foreign tourists, they are languishing due to non availability of adequate basic amenities and other required infrastructure.
Expressing concern over the lack of basic tourist amenities, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the Tourism Department authorities to undertake tourism infrastructure projects through Public- Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Patnaik, while reviewing the progress of the implementation of the tourism projects, asked the Works and Rural Development Department to expedite the road communication connectivity to the identified tourist spots.
He also asked the concerned officials to take steps to identify land for development of tourism projects across the State and earmark land for the purpose. Identified land parcels should be reserved in the form of a land bank for development of appropriate categories of tourism as identified by the Department of Tourism, he said.
According to official sources, as many as 329 tourist centers have already been identified as potential spots. The State Government has provided Rs 28 crore in the State plan for the development of several tourist centers.
Sources informed that during the 2013-14, tourist projects, including Biddhist Mega Circuit, Puri-Satapada-Bhubaneswar mega circuit (second phase), Talasari-Gagra-Satapada tourist circuit, Kandhmal-Rayagada-Koraput tribal circuit, Puri- Atharanala, Bhubaneswar- Ekamra and Chandrabhaga region, Konark Convention Center, light and sound project at Khandagiri and Dhauligiri and a special project for 2015 Nabakalebar of lord Jagannath, have been taken up as part of tourism promotion in the State.
Besides, it said steps have been taken to popularize the tourism products like heritage and pilgrimage tourism, adventure sports, beach sports, water sports, cruise boats, house boats, eco-tourism, medical tourism, wildlife safari, cultural tourism and other experimental tourism. Sources said that with the taking up of various promotional activities, while there has been 12 per cent increase in the domestic tourists, the increase of foreign tourist is in the order of 11 per cent during the last six years.
Among others, Tourism Minister Maheswar Mohanty, Chief Secretary BK Patnaik and Tourism Secretary Asok Kumar Tripathy attended the meeting.