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Challenges for the Revival of Odisha Tourism 1

2 Each and every state in this country has an interesting story to tell. Located 3 in the east coast of India – Odisha is an unique combination of beautiful 4 location with exotic culture and warm and friendly people. Odisha tourism is 5 a versatile of museum of India’s artistic and sculptural heritage. It is filled 6 with exquisite temples, natural landscapes of enchanting beauty, wildlife 7 sanctuaries, extraordinary monuments, home to many prolific artists and 8 craftsmen, serine beaches. Odisha tourism is unique and fascinating and yet 9 to be discovered by tourists. This paper has attempted to study the present 10 situation and future plans of the state govt to promote the tourism sector 11 during and the post pandemic scenario. Like many other sectors, the tourism 12 and hospitality had been badly effected during the COVID 19 pandemic and 13 obviously the inflow of tourists had gradually decreased. For the industry to 14 revive, this paper has highlighted the actionable suggestions and strategies 15 that would help to attract more tourists to the state which will ultimately 16 help in the economic development of the state as well as the country. 17 18 Keywords: Tourism, potential, development, destination 19

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21

Introduction 22

23 In Eastern India, Odisha is situated. It is the 8th largest state by area and 24

the 11th largest by population. The states of West Bengal and Jharkhand to the 25

north, Chhattisgarh to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south are the 26 neighbouring states. Odisha has 485 kilometres (301 mi) of coastline along the 27

Bay of Bengal. The area is also known as Utkala and is listed in the National 28 Anthem of India, Jana Gana Mana. Odia, which is one of the Classical 29

Languages of India, is the language of Odisha.. The ancient Kalinga state, 30 invaded in 261 BCE by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (which was once again 31 taken back from them by King Kharavela), culminating in the Kalinga War, 32 coincides with the boundaries of modern-day Odisha. When Orissa Province 33

was created on 1 April 1936, consisting of the Odia-speaking districts of Bihar 34 and Orissa Province, the modern boundaries of Odisha were demarcated by the 35 British Indian government. April 1st is celebrated as Utkala Dibasa. 36 Anantavarman Chodaganga was made the capital of the region by Cuttack in c. 37 1135, after which the city was used by many rulers as the capital, until 1948, 38

during the British period. Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha 39 afterwards. With 5.33 lakh crore (US$75 billion) in gross domestic product and 40 a per capita GDP of 116,614 (US$1,600), the Odisha economy is the 16th-41 largest state economy in India. Odisha is ranked 23rd in the index of human 42 development among Indian states. 43

With a 500 km (310 mi) long coastline, mountains, lakes, natural biodiversity 44 and rivers, tourism in Odisha is one of the major contributors to the economy 45

of Odisha, India. Odisha is one of India's main tourism industries, with 46 numerous attractions for visitors, including wildlife reserves, beaches, temples, 47

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monuments, arts and festivals. Other than wildlife reserves, beaches, temples, 1

monuments, arts, crafts and festivals. Both the Department of Tourism, Govt of 2

Odisha and Odissa Tourism Development Corporation are constantly trying to 3 develop the Tourism sector of the state. 4 Tourist Visits in Odisha, both Domestic and International in the last ten years 5 are been presented in the below table;- 6

7

Tourist Visits in Odisha 8

9

Calendar Year ( January -December) 10

Year Domestic % Change Foreign %Change Total %

Change

2009 68,91,510 8.38 45,684 3.9 69,37,194 8.35

2010 75,91,615 10.16 50,432 10.39 76,42,047 10.16

2011 82,71,257 8.95 60,722 20.4 83,31,979 9.03

2012 90,53,086 9.45 64,719 6.58 91,17,805 9.43

2013 98,00,135 8.25 66,675 3.02 98,66,810 8.21

2014 1,07,90,622 10.1 71,426 7.13 1,08,62,048 10.08

2015 1,17,86,117 9.2 66,971 (- ) 6.24 1,18,53,088 9.12

2016 1,28,42,899 8.97 76,361 14.02 1,29,19,260 9.00

2017 1,40,11,229 9.10 1,00,014 30.98 1,41,11,243 9.23

2018 1,52,08,540 8.55 1,10,818 10.80 1,53,19,358 8.56

(Source – Odisha Statistical Bulletin – 2018) 11 12

Domestic Tourist Visits in Odisha 13

14

12

10

% Chang

9.1

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1 FOREIGN TOURIST VISITS IN ODISHA 2

3 (Source – Odisha Statistical Bulletin – 2018) 4 5 6

COVID 19’s Impact on Tourism Sector 7

8

Recognizing travel, tourism and hospitality sectors as the worst hit during 9

Covid19 pandemic period, three stages are involved - survive, revive and 10 thrive. 11

To meet the basic needs of survival, Government of India announced some 12

incentives to other industries, but unfortunately tourism was yet not included. 13

The Tourism Department of Odisha has, however, proposed deferred payment 14 of holding tax, bar charges etc and recommended collection of electricity 15 charges as per actual consumption instead of the amount already fixed. 16 Extending such genuine support to the tourism community is a real challenge 17

for the Government when state revenue has drastically got reduced. 18 On revival of tourism activities there are two divergent views. Some say it 19

may take some more time, at least three years for revival, since the tourists who 20 travel and stay outside their home will be normally be apprehensive. Some 21 others are of view that after the Covid19 situation improves, there could be 22

surge in domestic tourism as the people may like to go out after a prolonged 23 self confinement. The reality may lie somewhere in between. 24

International aviation is badly effected by Covid 19 pandemic. The 25 foreign tourists’ arrival will obviously effected, besides, there are pending 26 issues - like visas etc. The people who normally plan for foreign tours may 27

decide to go for domestic sites and their number is quite sizeable. They should 28 be attracted to Odisha. In fact, the state government has already taken a 29

decision to focus more on domestic tourists, at least for two years from now. 30 The Department has already made the following action plans: 31

%Change

Foreign

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

-

6.2

20,000

10

10.39 40,0

00

15

14.02

60,000

20

20.4

25 80,0

00

30

1,00,000

35

30.98

1,20,000

Calendar Year (JanuaryDDEDeDecember)

3.

6.5

7.1

3

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The Tourism Department has decided to change the gear and focus on 1

the following priorities: 2

More emphasis on domestic tourist than the foreign tourists. 3

Health & safety assurance 4

Rediscover tourism spots 5

Enrich tour experience 6 7

In order to dispel the fear from the tourist’s mind on safety and 8 sanitation issues, strict health and sanitation protocol is being followed 9 in tourist places in cooperation with Health Department and other local 10

authorities. Top priority is given to sensitize tourism and hospitality 11 community by imparting training. 12

To popularize the main tourist destinations steps should be taken to 13 publish magazine and books with scholarly and informative articles. 14

This year, on 27th

September’2020 ‘Odisha By Road’ project was 15 inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister selecting seven itinerary from 16 cities like Vizag, Raipur, Bhillai, Jamshedpur, Kolkata of neighboring 17

states. These itineraries provide whole package of site seeing, lodging, 18 boarding and all sorts of tourist experience en- route the place of entry 19

to Odisha by road up to the final destination. These itineraries are 20 posted in the tourism website. 21

Virtual Road Shows are being organized to popularize the tourist 22 destinations with focus on Odia tourism. Odia cuisines are being 23 popularized. By inviting famous chefs from metro city, Mumbai, Odia 24

cuisine was included in their hotel menu and served. Similar attempts 25 will be made to popularize Odia food by associating other star hotels. 26

Recently a programme called ‘Nimantran’ has been launched at 27 three main cities of Odisha; Bhubaneswar , Puri and Sambalpur 28

by OTDC. These hotels will be managed by new professional 29 staff. Besides, food trucks will be used to meet the road side 30

demand on Odia food. 31 The State govt is trying to focus on development of fourteen 32

destinations in nine specific integrated tourists’ circuits. 33 Home Stay should be given importance in the new Tourism Policy by 34

granting Rs.6 lakhs to each Home Stay @ one lakh per room. Operation 35

of Boat Houses at Chilka, Bhitara Kanika, Satkosia and Debrigarh will 36 be encouraged. The old and wooden boats must be replaced by modern 37

and more efficient boats by giving 50% subsidies. Bank will provide 40 38 % loan and balance 10% will be borne by the individual concern. 39

With an objective of interstate exchange of tourists an MOU has been 40 signed by the State Tourism with Gujarat. Similar MOU will be signed 41

with other states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and 42 Chhattisgarh. 43

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Actionable Suggestions 1 2

It is reported that challenges, opportunities and strategies relating to 3 Odisha tourism has been divided in five categories such as infrastructure, 4 policy and governance, marketing and positioning, employment and HR issues 5 and investment issues. 6

Further the State Govt should initiate the following actions immediately: 7

8 Govt of India may be persuaded to implement the Coastal Highway 9

Project from Digha to Gopalpur creating highway side leisure and 10 recreational centers. 11

Promotion of domestic tourism by providing weekend programmes and 12

marketing facilities at site 13 Promotion of tribal and ethnic tourism by making the tourist policy and 14

regulations more tourists friendly. 15 Developing and positioning Similipal, Bhitarakanika and Satkosia as 16

adventure tourism 17 Sell or re-bid the existing dilapidated Panthanivas buildings and rebuild 18

with modern facilities by inviting fresh investment. 19 Manage public hospitality and tourism sector with young and able 20

professionals. 21 Promoting tourist destinations by joining with co promotion strategy of 22

airlines like Indigo and Go Air etc., since circular promotion will be 23

cheaper. 24 Forest, wildlife and adventure tourism is now the toast of the day. One 25

must, therefore, reposition the traditional cultural tourism with fun & 26 experience. 27

Creating a new brigade of tourism and hospitality professionals 28

focusing on their training 29 Adopting very strong digital marketing campaign 30

The Kanika sand island should be developed with proper roads and 31

other infrastructure and promoted as picnic spot combined with cruise 32 facility at Dhamra port. Dhamra should be a gateway to Bhitara Konika 33 with proper connectivity. More stress should be given upon cleanliness 34 and road side toilets. 35

The prominent places like airports, railway stations, urban hats and 36

other places the art and craft of all districts of Odisha should be 37 displayed. 38

To promote Budhist Circuit, Cuttack should be made the gateway. 39 The package should be so designed that a tourist reaching Cuttack will 40 see the marine museum and cruise along Mahanadi, visit Dhabaleswar 41

and on return to Gadagadia ghat. Visit Barabati Haat ( New Urban 42

Hat), enjoy Cuttacki cuisine and then proceed to the Budhist circuit at 43

Ratnagiri and Lalitagiri. 44

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Samuka project should be revived as tourist village with all 1

infrastructures and road connectivity attracting hoteliers to establish all 2

types of hotels catering to the needs of all categories of tourist. 3 Once the International Air connectivity is permitted, International 4

connectivity should be preferred to Dubai and Singapur in the East. 5 These two cities are destinations themselves and provide adequate two 6 way traffic. 7

Aggressively promoting Public –Private Partnership in investment and 8 be inclusive by utilizing collective intelligence from outside 9

Many states like Kerala and Goa have successfully tried out this 10 model and today they have flourishing tourism industries. It is 11 another matter that the private sector in Odisha is generally 12 reticent to dispense with their own funds but would rather like 13 to draw upon the state’s meagre resources, following which 14

infrastructure development is more state-directed, top-down 15 centric and most often ill conceived and poorly executed. There 16

are reports of many government lodges standing for years with 17 hardly any visitor having come there! Involvement of the 18 private sector could successfully crease out these wrong moves 19 and with proper coordination between corporate and state 20

sectors develop a robust infrastructure system in the state with 21 each party taking responsibility for a joint policy execution and 22 post-development maintenance. 23

It may be mentioned in this context the role of corporate social 24 responsibility (CSR) where public sector undertakings (PSUs) 25

are obliged to invest 2% of their annual turnover on socially 26 beneficial schemes. Tourism could be one such scheme as it 27

provides employment to a large number of people and is an 28

important service sector industry. 29

Puri is being developed into a modern city. Its main attraction is Lord 30 Jagannath. But non-Hindus and foreign tourists do not have any 31

opportunity of getting inside the temple and understanding the cultural 32 nuance of Jagannath Cult. A project may, therefore, be taken up by 33 Government in PPP mode showcasing history, culture, traditions and 34 rituals relating to Jagannath temple at Puri. 35

Making provision for at least ten thousand tourists to witness 36 the famous RathaYatra by building temporary galleries on the 37 top of the buildings on both sides of the Badodanda. 38

Popularizing Chandan Yatra, Jhulan Yatra, Goshani and other 39

festivals 40

Promoting Sahi yatra like Rama Leela, Krushna Leela and 41 exhibit other traditional folk dances like Gotipua, Naga Dance 42 etc at Neelachal Urban Haat or any other prominent places to 43 attract the tourists throughout the year except rainy season. 44

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Highlighting other historical monasteries (mathas) and other 1 heritage buildings and institutions renovating and reorganizing 2 them to attract tourists. 3

Re- organize and reseting Neelanchal Hat to make it more 4 attractive. Exhibit quality products from all over the state 5 including the arts and crafts of award winning artisans and 6

craftsmen. Make the tourists familiar with artisan’s village 7 Raghurajpur and streets like Kundheibenta Sahi, Pathuria sahi . 8

Organizing State and national wrestling competitions. Stage 9 Odishi , Goti Pua and other cultural programme every evening 10 or at least every weekend. 11

Besides the beach, there are no other centers of attraction at 12 Puri. Disneyland type infrastructure needs to be built in the 13 vicinity to entertain all categories of tourists. 14

The tourist packages and programmes should be so 15 thoughtfully prepared that even a a non Hindu/foreign tourists 16 can go to craft village, spend time at the beach, enjoy good 17 local food and witness some of the cultural / heritage 18 programmes in the evening. 19

Frequent transfers of the Directors and Secretaries of Tourism 20 Department hampers continuity in the tourism promotion. 21

A Tourist Development Board may, be formed to formulate policies 22 and plans for minimum five years and monitor their implementation. 23

The number of hotels now available in Odisha is not at all adequate to 24

meet the growing demand of domestic tourists during post pandemic 25 period. Government has to provide suitable land to the people to 26

establish hotels at an affordable price. The project like Samuka Project 27 has to be revived to develop a cluster of hotels which could be a game 28

changer in tourism sector. 29 A quick decision has to be taken by the Government in providing 30

genuine relief and support to the pandemic hit hoteliers and tourist 31 operators. A world class convention center in collaboration with WTC 32

was to be established in Bhubaneswar as per the decision taken during 33 2014. WTC has opened an office at Bhubaneswar. But there is no 34 further progress in this regard .This project should be implemented on 35

priority. 36 Like the Marine festival at Puri, four more such festivals should be 37

organized at Daringibadi, Bhitara Kanika, Satakoshia and Debrigarh. 38 Special packages/ trails- Odisha abounds in diverse attractions and 39

packages could be tailored accordingly. For example Odisha being one 40 of the principal sites of Buddhism, a proper Buddhist trail covering all 41

the important sites of Buddhist learning/pilgrimage could be properly 42 developed with good site facilities and provision for trained English-43 speaking tourist guides. Odisha, like Bihar, could leverage on the 44

inflow of Buddhist tourists from almost all South East Asian countries 45 besides Srilanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Since flight connections are now 46

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available on the Malaysia-Bhubaneswar sector Buddhist tourists could 1

avail of this route to visit Odisha directly. 2

Similarly boat tourism could be promoted like being thought of now. 3 For example, Satpada and Chilka-Kalijai are well visited and could be 4 used to develop overnight boat packages with other attractions thrown 5 in. 6

Travel by road- Odisha tourism is currently planning to promote 7

tourism by road, i.e. visitors travelling in their own vehicles to places of 8 interest. However to make such tours attractive, there should be 9 roadside kiosks showcasing a variety of tourist features such as local 10 handicrafts for shopping, maps at periodic intervals giving the 11 description of the flora and fauna of the region, clean and reasonably 12

priced eateries with an assortment of local odia dishes and lodges to 13 spend some hours and properly maintained public facilities. That would 14

encourage visitors to halt on the way and spend money. This would 15 give a boost to local tourism. 16

Flight to Jaipur of Koraput District needs to be resumed expeditiously. 17 18

Normally Rs.1. 65 lakh crores are spent annually by Indians on foreign 19 tours. Now that there are restrictions to travel abroad, these tourists will prefer 20

to visit places inside the country. Odisha should be able to attract such tourists 21 by adopting competitive promotional strategies and increasing our number of 22 hotels, accommodation and other infrastructural facilities. 23

Shri Narendra Modi, Honorable Prime Minister, after taking over in May 24 2014, had advised to link promotion of handloom and handicraft with tourism. 25

The Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Tourism had addressed a joint letter 26 to all the state Chief Secretaries on this subject and suggested developing the 27 following facilities in areas famous for handloom and handicraft products 28

falling en-route to major tourist destinations, but no such visible action has so 29 far been taken. So, following suggestions may be considered:- 30

Developing tourist destination villages, which will give the tourists a 31

feel of our rich handloom & handicrafts tradition, 32 Setting up road side amenities with facilities for display and sale 33

of handloom, handicrafts products by the weaver/artisans, along with 34 sale of local food, show of folk dance, music of the area and common 35 facilities for the tourists like drinking water, toilets etc 36

Setting up mega showrooms like the showroom of the Central Cottage 37 Industries Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIC) in the Jawahar Bhavan on 38 Janpath, New Delhi, either near the state capital/ airport or near the 39 main tourist site for display and sale of quality handloom, handicrafts 40 products typical of the state for catering to the need of tourist, who are 41

hard pressed for time. 42

Raghurajpur village near Puri, famous for Pattachitra was the first 43

village to be selected for developing tourist destination village. After 44 completing all formalities like preparation of the project report etc, a 45 sum of Rupees Ten crores was sanctioned as 100% central assistance 46

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by the Ministry of Textiles for the purpose. As per guidelines, 1

the project was to be implemented in a decentralized manner at the state 2

level with a committee under the chairmanship of the state Chief 3 Secretary along with a field level committee with the District Collector 4 as the Chairman to deal with day to day matters. How far the project 5 was implemented is not known. The present status needs to be checked 6 up and the implemented on priority. It is being reported in different 7

newspapers and other social media, that the objectives set by the Govt 8 of India has hardly been achieved. 9

Promoting craft and employment generation should be the top focus on 10 any tourism initiative. After Bhubaneswar - Puri Highway was 11 expanded, Pipili, so famous for appliqué work, was by passed and gone 12

out of sight of the tourists. This has affected hundreds of artisans. As 13 per GOI policy indicated above financial assistance ort may be obtained 14

from Central Government to build kiosks and exhibition centers along 15 with hotels selling local cuisine on both sides of the Highways by 16 acquiring suitable lands by the Government. The tourist travelling from 17 Bhubaneswar to Puri and Konark can stop over and avail the road side 18

amenities and buy the appliqué craft. It will re-employ at least 100 19 craftsmen family and popularize Pipili appliqué. 20

Bhubaneswar Haat showcasing diversities of all the 30 districts of the 21 state could be built on the lines of Delhi Haat and be an integral 22 component of Ekaamra Haat in Bhubaneswar.The Haat should depict 23

distinctive features such as culture, geography, ecology, agriculture, 24 industries in respect of districts in separate kiosks accompanied by 25

officials of the Dist Information Dept who could assist the visitors in 26 explaining the uniqueness of the district. Various regional and local 27 festivals, dance and music could be organized in the evenings as per a 28

calendar of events drawn up by the State Information and Culture dept. 29 This could be a major attraction for first time visitors, particularly 30

foreigners who may not have the time to visit the whole state and yet 31

can have an idea of the diversities of the state at one place. Information 32 about the Haat could be disseminated at the airport and railway station 33 in Bhubaneswar. 34

35 Odisha tourism seems to have decided to open up despite the coronavirus 36

pandemic and that is a good sign. However the challenge will be to balance life 37 with livelihood. In other words provide affordable tourism, take adequate 38 precautions and observe proper protocols for visiting tourists to avoid the 39 pandemic while providing, or rather resuming, livelihood options for all those 40 engaged in the hospitality sector. 41

Eco-tourism in Odisha has opened up in a big way with several eco-42

tourism facilities opening up. But the costs for availing of the accommodation 43

and other facilities in those resorts are prohibitively expensive which any 44 middle class tourist would ill afford. The local community does play an 45 important role in building the eco resort as well as in its maintenance, and a 46

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good part of the costs go towards funding the local NGOs which support the 1

community. Yet one has to factor the cost element in any reasonable cost-2

benefit analysis which applies to tourism as well. Even if the costs are 3 determined by local considerations, the government should have a say in the 4 matter and bring the costs down to competitive levels to attract more number of 5 tourists and thus generate more revenue. 6 7

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Conclusion 9 10

To revive the tourism sector in the aftermath of Covid Pandemic, a clear 11 and targeted policy should be formulated with twin objectives of income and 12

employment generation. Selected and specific tourist circuits are to be focused 13 attracting mostly the domestic tourists. Budhists Circuits should be also 14

promoted besides Puri, Konark and Chilka. Artisans and crafts persons should 15 be promoted. Adopting very strong digital marketing campaign is a must 16 requirement. Public –Private Partnership must be promoted in investment and 17 be inclusive by utilizing collective intelligence from outside. Tourism has 18

abundant prospects and possibilities in Odisha. There is a need to formulate an 19 implementable and well-thought out strategy detailing short, medium and long 20

term targets/projects to boost tourism prospects of the state. Given the paucity 21 of finances such targets need to be properly thought out and executed in a 22 planned manner. Lastly, all branding can be made only after a certain base in 23

tourism has been created in the state. In that sense, road shows and attendance 24 in international tourism marts, etc could be curtailed to the bare minimum and 25

funds thus conserved could be put to meaningful use as detailed above. 26 Keeping the above suggestions in view, a tourism policy may be quickly 27

be taken up to showcase the state on the Odisha map. 28

29

References 30 31

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/despite-potential-foreign-tourists-32 dont-flock-to-odisha-1.15021600628_1.html 33

http://www.odishatv.in/odisha/odisha-tourism-paticipants-in-berlin-festival 34 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/odisha-determined-to-tap-35

tourism-potential-114120901242_html 36 http://www.odishatourism.org/index.html 37 http://www.travel.india.com/articles/odisha-putting-extra-efforts-attract-tourists 38 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/tourism-projects-worth-rs-39

150-crore-lined-up-in-odisha-114060200008_1.html 40 Kavita Indapurkar and Isha Berry (2015). Promoting Tourism for Growth: An 41

Empirical Study of Odisha. International Journal of Business Quantitative 42 Economics and Applied Management Research.ISSN: 2349-5677. Volume 2, 43 Issue 2pp 65-68 44

Rao Venkata, & Swamy G.A. (2011). Tourism Entrepreneurship. ISBN: 978-81-7446-45 945-8 46

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Sahu, Kabita Kumari. Growth and Prospects of Tourism in Odisha. International 1 Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Invention. ISSN (Online);2319-7722 2

Swain S., & Mishra J.M. (2012).Tourism Principles and Practices. Oxford University 3 Press 4