In about a month’s time, after the extremely severe – Cyclone Fani hit the Odisha coast in Puri on May 3rd 2019, the Government of Odisha had helped bring back (up to a large extent) things to normalcy. On July 4, the state had organised the magnificent Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra and extended its invitation to all the tourists to discover the state which is the best kept secret of Incredible India.
According to the various reports, Odisha has lost around Rs 732 crore in the tourism sector in two months time following the widespread devastation caused by the Cyclonic Fani. The Cyclone also caused widespread devastation in Khordha and Cuttack districts, leaving residents without water and power for days.
According to Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) Chairman J K Mohanty at the time, the loss to hotel and tourism business was around Rs 3,000 crore. The figure regarding loss of revenue was reportedly provided by Tourism Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, while responding to a question in the assembly.
While domestic tourists have seen a fall of about 84%, foreign tourists have fallen by 80% despite the festive season (Rath Yatra). However, the industry stakeholders have a huge expectation that the numbers will be restored by the next tourist season from November to February.
In an attempt to know the current situation before the beginning of inbound season Whereabouts interacted with the stakeholders of Odisha tourism fraternity and they say ‘Its Back to Business’.
J K Mohanty,MHCIMA
Chairman – Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha &
Chairman – IATO – Eastern Region
What is the current situation of tourism in the state after Cyclone Fani especially in Puri? How do you look at the upcoming Inbound Season?
Well, Cyclone FANI has made a big impact to the tourism as well as hotel industry mostly in Puri, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar city. There was a huge slow down of tourist footfall for both May and June. However, I wish to intimate you all hotels in Puri, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are into normal operations. Leisure destinations such as Chilika, Gopalpur, Chandipur, Daringbadi etc., have not faced any damage to their properties and all are into normal operations.
How has been the overall impact of the Cyclone Fani on tourism sector in Odisha? Has it impacted the other cities as well?
Regarding the cyclone ‘FANI’ which devastated Odisha in general and Puri in particular, the entire greenery has been destroyed, but the State Government had taken quick action for restoration of electricity, water and cleaning of the roads etc. We would also like to congratulate the State Government for being active before the cyclone to have minimum casualty at Puri and other places. The early intimation by Govt. organizations such as IMD did really work hard to handle the entire process in a better way.
Any new development in the state that you would like to share with the industry?
The State Government of Odisha has been aggressively promoting Odisha Tourism both in domestic as well as international market. Now Odisha tourism is planning to introduce water sports activities / recreation projects in popular tourist destinations. Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) has also proposed the Government to start cruise service in Chilika Lake in joint association with Forest & Environment and Tourism Department. Our Govt. is also working to launch the new Tourism Policy 2020 which will definitely attract huge investment opportunity in the tourism sector.
IATO is coming to Kolkata for its Convention after 17 years? How do you look at this opportunity?
It is a great opportunity for Eastern Part of India that after 17 years IATO is conducting its Annual Convention and I am sure that this would go a long way in promoting tourism sector of eastern part of India. Eastern India gets very low tourist traffic as compared with the Southern Sector, Western Part and the North India Sector. To come up in the tourist map of India, we should forward to highlight the tourism products of the states in Eastern India which are filled with rich tourism potential and have the choice of beaches, mountains, eco-tourism, tribal tourism, lakes, wild-life, art & culture, mangrove forests and much more than what other states in India have
to offer.
Benjamine Simon
Managing Director – Travel Link
State Advisory Board Member, Odisha Tourism and Eco Tourism, Past Present, Travel Agents Association of Odisha
What is the current situation of tourism in the state after Cyclone Fani especially in Puri? How do you look at the upcoming Inbound Season?
Things are back to normalcy and Puri is geared to handle clients. However, with slow down in global economy the forecast is not that encouraging for inbound sector.
How has been the overall impact of the Cyclone Fani on tourism sector in Odisha? Has it impacted the other cities as well?
Yes, indeed the sector was badly hit as Odisha mainly depends upon domestic arrivals and Cyclone Fani that devastated Puri , Cuttack Bhubaneswar and Balasore, Chandipur on sea coastal regions the most preferred destination were badly affected.
Any new development in the state that you would like to share with the industry?
With a politically stable Government, transparent bureaucratic system, having one of the best Tourism Policy in the country, have sent a strong message to investors to look to Odisha for future business prospects.
The much awaited Samukha project in Puri beach front is now on the right track and National Chain of Hotels Taj, Welcome Group, Lemon Tree, Ramada have started their projects in the capital city and few international chains are also on the pipeline. The temple city of Bhubaneswar #1 smart city of India is emerging as the Sports Capital city of India and attracting various national and international sporting associations to have their events organised over here .
The city is peaceful, non polluted and well connected having very good road conditions, early accessibility to venue and other important natural and cultural heritage sites. The aviation sector is also very promising as national and international carriers are also scouting to have their presence in Odisha.
IATO is coming to Kolkata for its Convention after 17 years? How do you look at this opportunity?
It will definitely have a window of opening to Look East. The organisers needs to engage with State Governments to take advantage of this annual event to show case their destination as well have participation of various embassy persons to create awareness and confidence on the destination so that they also become a catalyst for destination promotion.
