Odisha Tourism:High on Potential, Low on Ranking

Low spending on tourism sector, inadequate marketing campaign and a host of factors such as low air connectivity have pulled Odisha’s tourism sector down the ladder. A latest survey puts Odisha at number 19 among all the States in the country.

Despite having great potential for spiritual, natural, heritage and tribal tourism, the State has not made much of a move because of its low priority to the sector. The total expenditure - both revenue and capital - when compared to the State expenditure works out to a measly 0.03 per cent, says the State Ranking Survey 2013, carried out by the Indian arm of New York-based consulting firm Hospitality Valuation Services (HVS).

Going by the report, States such as Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland spend a better share of their budget on tourism sector whereas Odisha’s rank seems to be slipping down. In the 2011 survey, the State ranked 15 but has dropped to 19th position this year.

On the contrary, national average spending on tourism has gone up from 0.10 per cent in 2008-09 to 0.18 per cent in 2012-13. Inadequate spending apart, the State also ranks low when it comes to availability of branded rooms which is an indicator of economic potential, tourism demand and anticipated business potential while the brands’ choices “reflect the State’s perceived economic position and hospitality competitiveness.”

Odisha, according to the survey, just has 307 branded rooms which puts the availability of branded rooms per sq km at 0.2. On that head, it stands at No 20 among the States.

Similarly, the State does not count much when it comes to marketing its destinations. Assessing the effectiveness of its marketing campaign on the basis of traffic to the official website of the State Government, the survey ranks it at 15th spot which is a slip of three spots over the last survey in 2011. 

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