The tourism sector in Orissa is set to get a big boost as the state government has decided to have dedicated land banks exclusively meant for development of tourism projects.
Efforts to acquire land have already taken off in some of the destinations in the state with tremendous potential for tourism. The government aims to acquire 400-500 acres of land by October this year to create a robust land bank for tourism projects in different regions of the state, an official source told Business Standard.
The decision to identify and expedite the process of land acquisition for tourism projects was taken at a meeting of the state tourism department which witnessed the participation of the tourist officers of different districts in the state. The move is aimed to woo private players to invest in the state’s tourism sector to help increase the inbound tourist arrivals.
Though the state tourism department plans to have land banks in all major tourism destinations, the priority is on two locations- Talasari and Satapada. The decision to have land banks for tourism projects has come in response to the recommendations of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Orissa (HRAO).
HRAO had suggested the state government to identify at least 500 acres of land in special tourism zones and allot it to the prospective hotel chains and entrepreneurs with priority on the local developers.
Moreover, with the land costs forming a major part of the project cost of hotels, the association suggested that the government should allow the hoteliers to pay the cost of the land in installments over seven years and the price should be fixed 50 per cent less than the prevailing market rates.
HRAO had also sought a 10-year tax holiday from the Orissa government on the new tourism projects in the state.
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Meanwhile, the state tourism department is negotiating with some private players for the country’s first inter-state cruise tourism project involving Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.The proposed project involved cruise connectivity from Visakhapatnam to Kolkata via Orissa. The project was to be implemented on the public private partnership mode and a private operator was to operate the cruise.
The state tourism department is also looking to rope in private players to start its proposed luxury train service for tourists on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode involving an investment of Rs 37 crore. It is in the process of negotiations with some private players in this regard.