NEW DELHI: Cyclone Phailin and the subsequent flooding that hit Odisha last week have left its tourism sector devastated with large-scale cancellations by domestic and foreign tourists, industry stakeholders said.
The Odisha government earns almost Rs.1, 000 crore/ Rs 10 billion annually from the tourism industry, according to Mohanty. Cyclone Phailin hit the state during its peak tourist season that spans from October to March.
"Phailin has caused great devastation. The hotels and resorts on the beaches of Puri and Gopalpur have been damaged quite a bit by the cyclone. Reconstruction has already started," J K Mohanty, chairman of the Odisha Hotel Association, told IANS on phone. "We have residential conference bookings for entire October. We have seen at least 50 per cent of them getting cancelled as people panicked," added J K Mohanty, who is also chairman and managing director of Swosti Group, a premium hotel chain in the state.
The cyclone had its landfall Oct 12. Prior to its arrival, the state government had issued a directive to all
hoteliers to vacate their beach properties. Mohanty said most of the hotels followed this direction and this saved many lives.
Odisha is well-known among tourists for the Jagannath Temple in Puri, beach tourism, wildlife, eco and cultural tourism.
The most-flocked places in the state include the Golden Triangle of Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar. Other attractions are the Chilka Lake, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Chandipur, Dhauli and Sambalpur. Environmentalists say, Chilka Lake has suffered considerable damage and its regeneration will take a number of years.
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