Odisha to host National Tourism Conference at Marine Drive Eco Retreat

Bhubaneswar, Jan 23: As a continuation of its efforts towards emerging as a trailblazer in the tourism and hospitality sector, Odisha is scheduled to host a National Tourism Conference on 23 and  24 January  with the objective of building strategic Centre-State and interstate partnerships for boosting sustainable tourism.  The Conference is being organised in association with FICCI. “Government of Odisha has always emphasised that East and Northeast India in particular will greatly benefit from best practices in cooperative federalism in tourism and hospitality. High spending tourists seek long stays and diverse experiences. If we can jointly curate circuits and collaboratively devise strategies to refine tourism across interstate borders, we will all win. The objective of this conference is to formulate such a shared vision”, said Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Minister for Tourism, Odia Language, Literature and Culture. "The uniqueness and wholesomeness of an experience is ultimately what every tourist anticipates and desires. We decided to host the Conference at the Marine Drive Eco Retreat given that it represents a textbook case of an experiential tourism project. Nowhere in India can one imagine spending the night in such luxury in such proximity of the sea waters. The Eco Retreat will provide the most conducive atmosphere to think our diverse ideas and strategies through to an actionable common programme”, added tourism Secretary Vishal Dev. Ten states have confirmed their participation, while the Union Government will be represented by UnionTourism Minister, Prahlad Singh Patel and Additional Director General Tourism, Rupinder Brar. The second day will begin with morning activities followed by a visit to Puri’s Shri Jagannath Mandir. Two key sessions on ‘Promoting India Globally through Centre-State Coordination’ and ‘Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Practices across India’ will be conducted, through which key action points will be extracted and summarised.