The Dhauli Peace Temple in Bhubaneswar, Odisha
ODISHA’s Department of Tourism (DoT) hopes to lure more South-east Asian arrivals by promoting its Buddhist sites, especially the Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri-Udayagiri-Langudi-Dhauli circuit.
“Odisha is home to about 10 important Buddhist sites. Buddhist destinations like Bodh Gaya (in Bihar state) receive a good number of foreign tourists, (hence we are trying to promote) Odisha’s Buddhist heritage to the South-east Asian market. At present, we only get a small number of tourists from these markets,” said UK Pati, deputy director, Odisha Tourism.
Pati adds that promotional efforts will include roadshows in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam taking place after May. Fam trips for travel agents are also in the works.
However, the lack of direct flights has been a stumbling block. Currently, the DoT is negotiating with airlines like SilkAir, Tigerair and AirAsia to begin services from South-east Asia to Biju Patnaik International Airport in Odisha’s state capital Bhubaneswar.
“If we can get direct connectivity, say from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok, it will be a game changer. We are also open to connectivity via other Indian cities such as Kolkata or Hyderabad. For example, IndiGo flies direct from Kolkata to Bangkok. (Perhaps) they can have a stopover at Bhubaneswar as well,” added RK Patnayak, tourist officer, Odisha Tourism.
In 2015, Odisha recorded about 74,000 international arrivals, a growth of 6.5 per cent over the previous year. A record growth of eight per cent in expected this year.
