Orissa in Eastern India has immense potential for the development of tourism and hospitality. Orissa is known for its ethnic and traditional handcrafted items, be it clothes, rugs or decorative items. The Tourism industry gets a major boost because of these art forms as people come from far and wide to simply watch these amazingly skillful artisans at work while they create these handcrafted items.

Orissa offers excellent opportunities in the tourism sector. Besides good infrastructure facilities (road, rail, air connectivity) described in the previous section, the state offers the following unique features :–

• Ancient monuments, beaches, religious and Buddhist tourist attractions  

• Hot springs, water-bodies, forest and wildlife  

• Number of festivals are organised every year by the tourism department such as Konark festival, Puri beach festival, Folk Dance festival at Sambalpur, Rajarani Music Festival and Ekamra Festival at Bhubaneswar, Shree Kshetra Utsav at Puri, Kalinga Mohatsav at Dauli, and tribal festivals in different districts

The growth in number of tourist arrivals during the last five years - from year 2000 through 2004 - was quite impressive which indicates average annual growth rate of 8.86%

Department of Tourism (DoT): The tourism wing of the Department of Tourism and Culture is the nodal agency, which develops tourism related policies and marketing and promotional campaigns. The department also conducts road shows and participates in tourism trade marts abroad. The marketing and promotion of Orissa as a tourist destination is done mostly by the DoT.

Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC): The function of OTDC is to implement the policies of DoT and to carry out commercial operations such as tourist accommodation, package tours, sight seeing and transport.

The objective of the Tourism department is to increase tourist traffic by developing and promoting tourist centres in the state. The department is following a two-pronged strategy to achieve the required objectives viz. creation of required infrastructure in the state and organising effective publicity regarding tourist destinations outside the state.

Some of the major activities undertaken by the department are highlighted below :–  

• A new Tourism Policy has been formulated which encourages private sector participation with the government acting as a catalyst in the process  

• Regular participation in tourism festivals outside the country was initiated to promote Orissa as a tourist destination. Road shows in India (Raipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata etc.) were organised  

• Puri and Chilika are being developed as Special Tourism Areas 

For details please log on to http://www.orissatourism.gov.in/new/index.htm

Potential Investment Opportunities

Tourism development requires investment across a wide spectrum of areas. These include hotels and accommodation facilities – from budget hotels to 5-star hotels - transportation, information and telecommunication. Some of the key investment classes in the tourism sector are:

Accommodation

• Various classes of Hotels
• Motels
• Spas and Resorts
• Camps and Jungle Lodges

Transportation

• Airport Infrastructure
• Roads
• Rail Network
• Tourist Vehicles and Taxicabs

Entertainment and Leisure

• Amusement Parks, Theme Parks, Multiplexes etc.
• Water Sports Complexes
• Entertainment Centres
• Golf Courses, Bowling Alleys and Sports Related Facilities
• Arts and Crafts Villages/Museums
• Adventure Sports Facilities
• Specialty Restaurants/Pubs

Information and Communication

• Telecom Infrastructure
• Internet Facilities
• Information Centres and Kiosks
• Information Technology and Websites
• Signages

Amenities

• Power Supply
• Water Supply
• Toilets
• Healthcare

Civic Improvements/Beautifications

• Clean-up Projects
• Floodlighting/Illumination
• Parks and Gardens
• Restoration Projects

Miscellaneous

• Convention Centres and Facilities
• Special Tourism Areas/Zones
• Tourism Training Centres