Addressing the virtual roundtable on “COVID-19: Impact on the State Tourism Sector,” organized by FICCI, Mr. Panigrahi said that the budget allotted for the tourism sector this year has seen an unprecedented increase.
The Chief Minister wants to take Odisha tourism to global standards.
He said, “We all must understand that the sector needs help to bounce back.”

The Chief Minister is expected to soon announce financial packages for the tourism sector. “The need is to work towards sustainable tourism, and we cannot have a situation where risk management is not taken care of,” he added.

“Let us collectively reaffirm our commitment to preserve power and promote all aspects of tourism and hospitality to make it socially and economically sustainable,” said Mr. Panigrahi.

Mr. Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary of Sports and Youth Services and Tourism for the Government of Odisha in India, said that the government is aware of the concerns faced by the tourism and hospitality sector. “We are working on a detailed support package to be offered to the industry, which would include hotels, restaurants, tour operators, and self-employed people including photographers, guides, etc., among others,” he added.

Highlighting the measures to promote Odisha tourism, he said that we are looking at roadshows, road trips from the neighboring states, and scaling up of eco-retreats to cover more destinations. We have selected a partner that will help us in curating various itineraries and immersive experience packages to promote these packages, Mr. Dev noted.