Bhubaneswar: International operations at Biju Patnaik airport will not only help increase foreign tourist footfalls but also boost the hospitality sector in the state. General Manager of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation Limited (OTDC) M R Patnaik said this talking to the media at Air Hostess and Hospitality Academy (AHHA) here on Saturday.
This year of a total of 65,000 foreign tourists came to the state, of which only 3,800 came by air, said sources. "Due to poor air connectivity, Odisha is getting less number of foreign tourists while our neighbour Bihar is getting roughly four lakh foreign tourists a year. International operations are likely to increase the number of foreign tourists to one lakh," said Patnaik. He informed that there are about 1,328 hotels in state under different categories.
"Under the five-year perspective plan, we have projected 1.22 crore tourist traffic to the state by 2014-end. About 1.20 lakh youths will be getting direct employment in hospitality industry and nearly three lakh indirectly benefitted," said Patnaik.
03/02/13 Riyan Ramanath V/Economic Times
