Odisha works towards inclusivity

Praising it for taking up fundamental and far-reaching initiatives to create inclusive tourism, Suman Billa, Director (Technical Cooperation & Silk Road Development), UNWTO, says that one of the most important cornerstones is that Odisha is creating authentic and traditional experiences for tourists.

Many states in India today are beginning to recognise and actively working towards the inclusive growth – this year’s theme on World Tourism Day – and this includes Odisha also. The Odisha Government had identified this as one of the most significant areas to work towards even before the pandemic had started. Some of the key areas that Odisha Tourism has been focusing on are heritage and tribal tourism development.

Commending the state’s initiates towards this, Suman Billa, Director (Technical Cooperation & Silk Road Development), UNWTO, says, “There is no sector as efficient as the tourism sector in taking up the inclusive growth to its peak. Tourism matters because of its sheer size. One out of every 10 jobs are created by the sector in the country. One of the other important aspects of tourism is its ability to create jobs for a diverse workforce be it airlines, hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, etc. Odisha has taken up fundamental and far-reaching initiatives to create inclusive tourism. One of the most important cornerstones is that, Odisha has taken up initiatives in creating authentic and traditional experiences for tourists and this is supported by their push to create homestays which is an excellent move. This not only gives the opportunity to showcase the true experience of Odisha to the tourists but also creates economic avenues for the community.”

He adds, “Odisha is also supporting its traditional industry like handicrafts and handlooms through tourism. It is excellent that Odisha is creating traditional wooden boats that will be manned by the local boatmen thus creating livelihoods for them.”

This vision is led by the state’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who says that Odisha Tourism is taking strides towards integrated development of the state’s tourism sector that is self-sustainable and supports wider economic recovery. Sustainable and responsible tourism is intrinsic to Odisha and its key offerings are community oriented. Odisha’s award-winning ecotourism initiative of community managed nature camps exemplifies this model in letter and spirit. His government also introduced the Odisha Homestay Establishment Scheme 2021 to enable creation of immersive tourism experiences through operationalisation of homestays at unexplored bio-diverse destinations with rich culture while boosting local entrepreneurship.

Climate for investment

The Odisha government has created an investor-friendly climate in the state to rebuild its tourism industry in the next five years. Multiple surveys of investible tourism landbanks are being carried out by the state to further develop both existing and unexplored tourism destinations. Even the private sector investments are being facilitated through attractive incentivisation schemes so they can be retained. The state is working on infrastructure development through integrated master planning of identified priority destinations in the state with scope for community participation and incorporation of sustainable value adding enterprises like handicrafts and promotion of authentic Odia cuisine.Odisha has reworked the strategy and vision for tourism in the post Covid environment while ensuring that safety is a priority. Its govern ment is committed to take care of ecotourism in a community driven model which is also sustainable.

The state is also ramping up the award-winning community-led eco-tourism models. In the last four to five years, Odisha has developed a lot of eco-tourism sites both by the Tourism as well as the Forest Department. Despite the pandemic, the Eco-retreat at Konark had 50 per cent occupancy and other sites had 40 per cent occupancy. The Eco-Retreat will be expanded to about seven unique eco-tourism destinations this year and the model on which the project is based incorporates best practices in material utilisation, zero liquid and sewerage discharge and holistic waste management.