Riding on the success of its debut with Marine Drive Eco Retreat at Konark a year back, Odisha Tourism’s flagship three-month glamping festival was today declared open to bookings by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The new logo was also unveiled, subtly depicting the ecological orientation.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Shri Patnaik said that last year, a benchmark was set in luxury glamping with a phenomenal success at the Marine Drive Eco Retreat at Konark. Secretary to Chief Minister V K Pandian coordinated the ceremony. This time, he said, we have scaled it up to five unique locations – Konark, Hirakud, Bhitarkanika, Daringbadi and Satkosia.
The Eco retreats will offer tourists an excellent opportunity to discover Odisha’s diverse tourism offerings, in style, he added. In a note of assurance to tourists from across the country during covid times, the Chief Minister said that all stakeholders in tourism and hospitality sector across the State have been provided training on COVID-19 protocols.
Consistent with Odisha’s stellar management of COVID-19 pandemic, the Eco Retreats will be in complete compliance with guidelines and standard operating procedures prescribed by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, he further added. He urged upon the respective District Administrations to take ownership of the execution of the Eco Retreats.
Raising hope for the pandemic affected tourism & hospitality sector, he expressed confidence that the Eco Retreats will provide the much needed fillip to Odisha Tourism and help it revive during this difficult time. In his address, Minister of Tourism & Culture Shri Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said that the impact that Marine Drive Eco Retreat had created massive impact which echoed at the Tourism Minister’s Conclave in January 2020.
It is this fervour with which we shall keep working tirelessly to take Odisha to newer heights under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik.” Chief Secretary Shri Asit Tripathy said that the Eco Retreat model ticks the right boxes in terms of environmental sustainability, technological leverage, teamwork, timeliness in near-perfect compliance with the good governance framework of 5T and will be transformative for each location’s tourism-oriented future. Welcoming the guests, Secretary Tourism Vishal Dev, in his presentation, gave a glimpse of the experiences awaiting tourists at each of the five unique locations.
Director Tourism offered the vote of thanks. Among others, the event was attended by Chairperson OTDC Development Commissioner, ACS Forest & Environment, Principal Secretary Revenue, Collectors of the concerned districts and senior officials of Tourism Department.
The Eco Retreats Odisha is slated to open from 08 December 2020 upto 28 February 2021. To book stays, an easy-to-use integrated portal ecoretreat.odishatourism.gov.in is available to tourists from across India.