CM Patnaik inaugurates Odisha Travel Bazar, state's flagship exhibition

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday inaugurated Odisha Travel Bazar, the flagship annual exhibition of Odisha Tourism.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, "We have identified 17 priority destinations encompassing beaches, biodiversity zones, heritage monuments and areas of religious and cultural importance for integrated master-planning-based development. With products centred around key tourism offerings to match global standards, Odisha will be able to attract not just the finest brands in travel and hospitality but also tourists looking for experiential that are bespoke with a fresh perspective".

Patnaik iterated that in recent times, Odisha has evolved into the sports capital of India and has been hosting international marquee events such as the recently concluded FIFA Under 17 Women's World Cup and now has the rare opportunity of hosting FIH Hockey Men's World Cup for the second consecutive time in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in January 2023.

Deliberating on the many tourism offerings Odisha has to offer, Patnaik welcomed the tourism fraternity and sought their active contribution to marketing the State.

Deliberating on the diverse tourism offerings Odisha has, Tourism Minister Aswini Kumar Patra highlighted Chief Minister Patnaik's vision due to which the State has seen unprecedented growth in recent years with respect to the creation of tourism infrastructure and a substantial increase in budget for the development of tourism.

As many as 50 different crafts have been approved by the Government of Odisha and practised by more than 1.50 lakh artisans in varying degrees and are dispersed throughout the state.

"Terracotta" is one of the approved crafts of the State mostly practised by the traditional Kumbhakars and trained youths almost in every district. More than 10,000 terracotta artisans in the State are producing traditional, decorative and utility terracotta-based items.

The government of Odisha in the Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Department is providing promotional support for the growth of the handicraft sector including market assistance by organizing exhibitions. Various need-based interventions are provided to the individuals, SHGs, Cooperative Societies and apex bodies for capacity building, skill upgradation training, supply of improved tools and equipment, providing bank linkage, infrastructure development, product designing and diversification, marketing assistance to participate in different exhibitions etc.

In order to produce market-oriented products, design development programmes engaging designers from inside and outside the state are conducted in clusters to create a wide range of products. Online Marketing has been introduced through UTKALIKA for the marketing of handicraft products.

To provide a platform for marketing the products of the clusters and individual artisans, an exclusive craft-specific exhibition in terracotta has been organized by the Directorate of Handicrafts since 2006.