On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, a first-of-its-kind tourism carnival was jointly organised by the Odisha Tourism Department and the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) here on Sunday.
Governor Dr SC Jamir flagged off the carnival on the third and concluding day of FHRAI’s golden jubilee convention.
Thousands of spectators, including top echelons of the hospitality industry and stakeholders associated with the industry attended the carnival.
Bollywood diva Mahima Choudhry rode pillion on one of the lead bikes in the procession. The colourful extravaganza comprised of eight floats or tableaux exclusively designed for this carnival on different themes.
Of the eight floats, the world tourism float led the carnival procession followed by Odisha Tourism displaying different tourist destinations in the State and FHRAI’s own float exhibiting the apex organisation of all the leading regional hotel associations of India.
The float on Buddhism was very impressive.
Musical bands of Indian Navy, Odisha police along with dance troupes from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Jharkhand brought cheers among the spectators.
Among other dignitaries on the occasion, Culture and Tourism Minister Ashok Panda, Industries Minister Debiprasad Mishra, lok Sabha member Prasanna Pattsani, MlAs Bijay Mohanty, Priyadarshi Mishra and many others participated.