Odisha is a tourism hub of global standards
BY MADHULIKA DASH
Early November last year when the decision to host the second edition of Eco Retreat with not one but five new destinations was taken, it came with a slight sense of trepidation. The pandemic had just loosened its grip but the uncertainty loomed large. It was a tough call but it was made, thanks to the Odisha Tourism team which worked tirelessly to boost the glamping experience to a new level this time. The gamble paid off.
Between Odisha On Road, which was devised for tourists to explore the state on wheels, and Eco Retreat that upped the ante on glamping, the state tourism made up for the lost time. Now, the man-in-charge, Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha, and his team are focusing on beach and waterway tourism.
“When I took charge in 2018, I was given the task of promoting a beautiful state with a tapestry that had to be woven again,” says Vishal Dev. Early on, he decided to have an integrated approach to bringing the Kalinga he knew back to global glory.
Mr Dev elaborates: “Our approach was simple: first we had to refocus and streamline our visibility across platforms for better outreach and then create concepts that can market the place for aspects more than what the place was known for initially.”
The Air Asia Bloggers Trail in 2019 was one such example that set Mr Dev’s new narrative in place. Odisha wasn’t being promoted just as a land of temples, it was a complete package that had everything from beaches to hills. Another masterstroke was the promotion of sports tourism, where the charge of Odisha’s Sports and Youth Services Department helped him create world class infrastructure in Bhubaneswar that eventually hosted the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup. One of his early ambitious projects, it revved up the state’s visibility quotient – especially of Konark’s beaches which many found an exceptional place for water sports, particularly surfing.
ECO RETREAT: A TURNING POINT
The little “baby steps” eventually panned out for bigger initiatives like the Eco Retreat. Considered to be a benchmark in slow-mode, sustainable travelling, the initiative began, recalls the Principal Secretary, “as a thought of promoting the serenity of Konark’s Ramchandi Beach, and how to transform Konark as a multi-day vacation destination.”
“The answer came in form of these little tents by the beach or glamping. Of course, the idea wasn’t a first-of-its-kind, but the treatment of the place was, and it could be promoted well with a few changes,” he says. It was here that his team of handpicked domain experts helped put the vision together and it was presented to the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik.
Backed by Honourable Chief Minister, the first edition of Eco Retreat was held at Konark beach with Odisha Tourism creasing out every single aspect of an initiative based on sustainability, and “this included essential things like keeping waste at a plausible near zero.”
Eco Retreat proved to be a turning point in terms of high-end experiential travelling, and the second edition, where they added four more spots including the beautiful Satkosia Gorge and the breath-taking Daringbadi hill-station, stepped up the narrative of luxury travel in Odisha. The third, according to Mr Dev, “would throw open one more destination in the present coterie with a few upgrades done in the present locations. Like adding more accommodation options in Konark and Satkosia that have done exceptionally well this year to finding better hosting grounds that would allow us to enhance our offers. Like for Bhitarkanika, we plan to use the Pentha Beach region to facilitate water sports too in the next season.”
MOVING FORWARD
Elaborating further Mr Dev continues, “Among our ongoing plans, we are developing 46 out of the 104 destinations which we have identified to be part of our next year’s campaign. We would be developing the basic infrastructure like pathways, cafes, changing rooms while using the Go Plus app, a land bank information system to bring in hospitality brands and other investors who would help us boost tourist footfalls. In addition, we are also working on promoting waterways tourism by introducing luxury cruises and houseboats among others at different jetties and riversides across Odisha.
“The jetty and associated infrastructure that we are developing in Cuttack would have a large establishment that would provide state-of-the-art cruise and water sports experiences. Barkul in Chilika would even have a floating restaurant.” Barkul is among the three projects that the department has already approved, including one coming up in biodiversity rich Bhitarikanika.
With this, feels the Principal Secretary, “Odisha will be able to attract not just the finest brands in business of travel and hospitality but also widen its net on tourists looking for experientials that are bespoke with a fresh perspective. “The final tie to this vision has been Nimantran, a fine dining restaurant dedicated to the rich history of Odia cuisine, conceptualised and managed exclusively by Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC).
“In the first phase,” says Mr Dev, “We would be opening Nimantran at three places – Puri, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar – with a dedicated team of domain experts handpicked to run this place as the finest showcase of our ancient culture. In fact, our Sambalpur property is housed in Rani Bakhri, a palace built by the fifth king of Sambalpur for his favourite queen in 1650 that was restored to its former glory with help from INTACH.”
But that’s not all. According to Mr Dev, there is lot more in store. “What we have done thus far is good,” he says, “but it is just the tip of the iceberg.”
