Bhubaneswar, 08 February: The 2nd Day of the Odisha Travel Bazaar witnessed
industry stakeholder roundtable, B2G meetings with the investors and structured
meetings between 70 DTOs and 50 plus sellers from Odisha. Pre FAM TRIPS were
scheduled for Foreign Tour Operators to Eco Retreat Bhitarkanika and Satkosia.
A panel discussion on Connecting Forces: Public-Private Synergy for Odisha’s
Tourism Growth & Success was conducted among industry leaders on the Day-2 of 5thOdishaTravelBazaar2024. VP- Corporate Affairs & Business Development,

IHCL (Taj) Dinesh Chadha, MD, A.T. Seasons & Vacations Travel Pvt. Ltd Shri
Amaresh Tiwari, COO Yatra Krishan Singh, SVP & Head Corp. Affairs &
Communications MakeMyTrip Shri Sameer Bajaj, Area Manager Partner Services,
Booking.com Shri Birendra Singh, CEO, Sea Horse Hospitality Consulting Sandeep
Roy, Development Manager Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Shri Siddhartha Kochhar,
Managing Director, The Crown IHCL SeleQtions Shri Debasish Patanaik, President
and Director, Mayfair Hotels & Resorts Manoj Kumar Gouda, Director MGM Resorts
and MGM Group Siddhartha Mohanty and Managing Director, Vikash Eco Resort Pvt
Ltd Valluri Srinivas, Shri Navajyoti Patnaik, Director, Pravat Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. were
a part of the Interactive Industry.
On the inaugural ceremony on Day 2 of 5th Odisha Travel Bazaar, Hon’ble Tourism
Minister Shri Aswini Kumar Patra spoke on the diverse tourism offerings of Odisha
and highlighted Chief Minister Shri Patnaik’s vision due to which the State has seen
unprecedented growth in the recent years with respect to creation of tourism
infrastructure and substantial increase in budget for development of tourism.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Day-2, Chief Advisor to CMO Shri Suresh
Mohapatra, IAS quoted, “Odisha as a tourist destination offers world class
infrastructure and diversified product portfolio suiting the tastes of all kinds of
travellers. I welcome tourists to explore India’s best kept secret.”
Highlighting Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik’s focus on developing tourism
infrastructure of the State Chairman Odisha Tourism Development Corporation Shri
Lenin Mohanty expounded on the various heritage corridor development projects
being undertaken by the State at Puri, Bhubaneswar, Taptapani, and Sambalpur
amongst others. He spoke about the importance of the tour operators and travel
agents’ fraternity and how their participation in this event will enable many business
opportunities and offer a bouquet of exciting tourist destinations and experiences for
the travel community.
On this occasion, Director-Tourism Shri Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav made a
presentation to the Foreign Tour Operators on Odisha Tourism’s initiatives for
promotion of the State including new and innovative products such as Eco Retreats,

Boat Clubs, Yachts, Caravans, Camping etc. to lure the new-age travellersacross the
globe to the State.

A cultural programme showcasing Odisha’s performing arts such as Odissi, Chhau
and Sambalpuri folk dance was organized post the interactive session.
55 Foreign Tour operators from across 16 countries like Belgium, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and Vietnam are participating in the Day 2 and
Day 3 of the event. A B2B session with the Domestic Tour Operators and a
Familiarization Trip to tourist destinations like Bhubaneswar, Konark, Puri,
Bhitarkanika and Satkosia are also planned.