Three-month-long Eco Retreat to start from December 1
BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to host the second edition of Eco Retreat, a glamping festival, at the Ramchandi beach near Konark from December 1 to revive the corona-hit tourism sector.
The three-month-long tourist camp will provide a unique experience to tourists and boost tourism activities in the state. The government is planning to host similar festivals at Bhitarkanika, Daringbadi, Hirakud and Satkosia to popularise under-explored destinations.
Officer of the tourism department and Puri district administration visited the camping location on Wednesday. “The tourism department is finalising the layout of the festival site. There are some changes in the layout this year and there would be some value additions. The festival will be helpful in reviving the livelihood options in the nearby tourist destinations,” said collector (Puri) Balwant Singh.
Sources said 50 luxury tents will be put up for tourists at the camping site while the decision over other entertainment activities will be decided later.
“The pandemic has hit the tourism industry hard. Since Konark and Puri are the major tourist attractions of Odisha, livelihood has been badly affected. A event management company for the festival has already been selected and they have started the work,” said tourism director S R Yadav.
The first edition of Eco Retreat was very successful and saw record occupancy of 89%. Over 4,000 tourists visited the camp while nearly 5,000 attended the cultural evenings every day, official sources said.
To revive the hospitality and tourism industry, the state government called upon the industry to collaborate with the government towards personalisation of services, professional practices and privatisation of facilities. Though tourism and hospitality industry were worst-hit during the pandemic, new positive trends have started coming up, said chief secretary Asit Tripathy while addressing participants at a workshop on Facing the New Normal – Opening up Hotels, Restaurants & other Hospitality Units in Odisha.