Bhubaneswar, June 17: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Pravati Parida on Wednesday chaired a State-Level Workshop on Development of Global Standard Tourist Destinations in Odisha at Lok Seva Bhawan here.
During the workshop, the Tourism Department presented two proposed destinations under the initiative, Puri-Konark and Hirakud. The Puri-Konark region was showcased as a world-class heritage, spiritual and coastal tourism destination centred around the Jagannath culture, Konark Sun Temple, Odisha’s coastline, Chilika and Raghurajpur heritage village.
Hirakud was presented as a high-potential eco-tourism, water-tourism and adventure-tourism destination anchored around the Hirakud Reservoir and Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary.
The workshop was organised by the Tourism Department in line with the Ministry of Tourism’s initiative to develop at least one Global Standard Tourist Destination in every State under the vision of “One State – One Global Destination” envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Senior officials of the State Government and district administrations, industry stakeholders and tourism experts attended the workshop.
Addressing the workshop, the Deputy CM called for a coordinated and convergence-based approach involving all stakeholder departments to transform Odisha’s tourism destinations into globally competitive destinations offering world-class infrastructure, services and visitor experiences.
She underscored the need to create destination-specific development plans that balance tourism growth along with environmental conservation and community participation.
Participants deliberated on critical aspects including destination planning, establishment of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), infrastructure development, visitor management, sustainability, governance frameworks, private sector participation and inter-departmental convergence. Discussions also focused on improving tourism amenities, strengthening last-mile connectivity, enhancing visitor experiences and attracting responsible investments under the Odisha Tourism Policy.
Tourism Secretary Sachin Ramchandra Yadav, Director Deepankar Mohapatra, representatives from the Departments of Works, Housing & Urban Development, Forest, Environment & Climate Change, Water Resources, Revenue & Disaster Management, Transport, Culture and district administrations participated in the workshop.
Representatives from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS), Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Odisha Association of Tour Operators (OATO) and Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) were also present and shared their views in the workshop.
