The World Tourism Day was celebrated on September 27 at the Biju Patnaik Airport here at its arrival lounge. Airport Director Sharad Kumar inaugurated the programme with lighting of the lamp and invited arriving passengers to join him during the ceremony.
Kumar said Odisha is famous on the world map because of its rich and varied culture, heritage sites and also because it is the abode of lord Jagannath. Tourism has always played an important role in the development of Odisha. A lot of travel packages are in the consideration stage targeting domestic and international tourists to the State.
The new domestic terminal building at the airport has been receiving excellent response from the regulars and everyone associated with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), he said.
Speaking on the theme of the World Tourism Day this year, “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future”, Kumar said saving the natural resources for our future generations should be the goal of everyone. “Through tourism, along with creating a bridge between our cultures, customs, better understanding of art and literature, we can spread better awareness and appreciate the need to use our water resources with care and caution,” he said.
Development of tourism and preservation of natural resources are a worldwide accepted project and it is the duty of global citizens to contribute their bit by taking every small step possible in this regard, Kumar added.