Odisha Govt to lift restriction to boost Foreign Tourists Inflow

Bhubaneswar, Sep 25: The Odisha government will lift restricts on movement of foreign tourists in tribal areas of the state.  Due to the restrictions the foreign tourists’ inflow in the state has been dropped significantly.

It is noteworthy that following abduction of two Italian tourists on May 18, 2012 by Maoists in Kadhamal-Ganjam border, the state government had imposed restrictions on movement of foreign tourists in tribal areas.

Tourist operators and experts do feel that the restrictions by the state government had hit the tourism sector in Odisha. According to reports, the tourists’ inflow has been declined in many districts including Koraput, Rayagada, Kandhamal and Phulbani.

Since 2012, after the abduction issue, no foreign tourists visited tourist places in Kandhamal district. The tourists’ inflow declined to 67 in 2013 from 379 in 2012 in Phulbani district.

To boost the inflow of foreign tourists, the state government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of Home Secretary, which will review the imposed restriction and submit its recommendations