Dr. Jyotiskar Mohapatra, Chairman and Sri Manoranjan Patnaik, General Manager, OTDC receiving the Best Tourism Festival Destination Award from Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh at Shimala on 07.04.2012.
Odisha Tourism has bagged the Best Tourism Festival Destination Award in a prestigious award ceremony of International Tourism Conclave & Travel Award function held at East Bourne Resorts & Spa, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Jyotiskar Mohapatra, Chairman, OTDC and Sri Manoranjan Patnaik, General Manager, OTDC jointly received the award on behalf of Odisha Tourism from Hon’ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal in the presence of Mr. R. S. Khwaja, Secretary, Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Miss. Manisha Nanda, Secretary, tourism & Civil Aviation, Himachal Pradesh, Mr. Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary, Tourism Devastan Management Pilgrimage, Govt. of Gujurat and Mr. Ajaya Gupta, CMD of International Tourism Conclave & Travel Award. Hon’ble Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh Prof. Dhumal also awarded other international tourism companies, boards, departments, destinations, hotels, resorts, travel agencies for excellency in tourism. The other States which received the awards were Himachal Pradesh Tourism, Gujurat Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Chhatisgarh Tourism, Maharastra Tourism and the international awards in different fields were given to Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, China Tourism, etc.
ITCTA promotes tourism by undertaking promotional and publicity activities, facilitate the exchange of market information, encourage partnerships between the public & private sector and facilitate the easing of barriers to travel industries.
Odisha Tourism has been playing a significant role to showcase the rich cultural and religious heritage through its treasure of classical & folk music & dance. Odisha got this recognition as the best Tourism Festival Destination Award for its innovative and cultural related activities during the past few years. The rich cultural heritage of Odisha has been show-cased through its colourful festivals like : (1) International Sand Art Festival, (2) International Surfing Festival, (3) International Odissi Festival, (4) Gotipua Dance Festival, (5) Konark Festival, (6) Toshali National Crafts Mela, (7) Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav, (8) Mukteswar Dance Festival, (9) Rajarani Music Festival, (10) Choreography Festival of Dance (Samrachana).
The International Sand Art Festival and International Surfing Festival were organized for the first time in India by Odisha Tourism. In addition to this, the Guinness record event with 518 Odissi Dancers performing together for 28 minutes was also organized by Odisha Tourism. Further a Jugalbandi with US 3D chalk artist and Sudarshan Pattnaik, International Sand Artists was also organized by Odisha Tourism in collaboration with US Consulate General, Hyderabad, which was also a rare event of its kind organized in India.
