The inbound tourist arrivals in Orissa, both overseas as well as domestic, seem to have hit a plateau over the last 10 years despite the state's tremendous potential even as neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has surged ahead with an inflow of 323,000 lakh foreign tourists and 155 million domestic tourists in 2010.
"Though Orissa has a vast bouquet of tourist products, the state's actual tourist arrivals pale into insignificance compared to our neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh ranks first as a tourist destination in the country, attracting more than 155 million domestic tourists and 323,000 domestic tourists. On the contrary, Orissa attracts barely 40,000 foreign tourist every year and the figure has remained stagnant over the past ten years,” said J K Mohanty, president, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Orissa (HRAO).
Lack of an international airport, want of adequate publicity, inordinate delay in allotment of land for hotels and consequential sluggishness in expansion of hotel rooms topped with an unbearable delay in finalization of the proposed tourism policy has virtually dwarfed the growth of the tourism sector, rued Mohanty.
Mohanty pointed out with foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings in the tourism sector on a rise, Orissa cannot afford to lose out. HRAO has offered a blueprint to the Orissa government to push the state's tourism sector into a high growth trajectory. The association has called for creation of an additional 4000 rooms in the three-star hotel category and 2000 rooms in the five-star bracket by 2014, a move that needs an investment of around Rs 3,000 crore.
To help attract players in the sector, Mohanty said, the state government needs to step in with policy interventions like expediting the proposed tourism policy and create dedicated land banks for tourism projects.
While India receives 600 million foreign tourists, the outbound tourists from the country stand at 650 million. On an average, Indians spend Rs 6,722 crore while travelling overseas compared to Rs 4,136 crore while travelling within the country. It is estimated that for every Rs 10 lakh spent, manufacturing industries give employment to 18 people, agriculture offers employment to 45 people while tourism employs more than 78 people.
Business Standard