#RTNext with Vishal Dev
#RTNext is a series of conversations focusing on the immediate future of travel in India.
In this episode we have Mr. Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary - Tourism, Govt Of Odisha joining us to discuss whether Odisha, ‘India’s best kept secret’ can be India’s best-known destination in the post-vaccine years?
#rtnext #vishaldev #outlookindia
In this episode we have Mr. Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary - Tourism, Govt Of Odisha joining us to discuss whether Odisha, ‘India’s best kept secret’ can be India’s best-known destination in the post-vaccine years?
#rtnext #vishaldev #outlookindia
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NewsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Thank you so very much for joining us today
00:12 for our new series of short focused conversations
00:15 on the future of travel in India called RT Next.
00:18 As we watch a few countries throw their doors open again
00:20 this summer and post-vaccine travel picks up pace elsewhere,
00:24 we wonder what's next for us here in India,
00:27 even if the timelines are not so clear yet.
00:30 Yes, the world stopped spinning on its axis for a while
00:34 and yes, we have a long way to go before the masks come off,
00:38 but when they do, will we be ready for it
00:41 or will it be too late?
00:42 At the Outlook Responsible Tourism Initiative,
00:45 an affiliate member of the UNWTO,
00:47 we very strongly believe at the cost of sounding trite
00:52 that there's light at the end of the tunnel.
00:54 The question is, how do we get through this tunnel
00:56 together as a community to build better and stronger
01:01 and more resilient communities
01:04 and people involved in the travel business?
01:06 So that is exactly why we're reaching out
01:09 to the experts and the doers, the policy makers
01:12 and the policy implementers for the RT Next series.
01:15 We're really hoping they can help us plan better
01:17 for the future and more than anything else, give us hope.
01:21 I'm Shruti Banerjee and I'm here today
01:23 with Mr. Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary,
01:25 Tourism, Sports and Youth Services, Government of Orissa.
01:29 Welcome, sir.
01:30 We've always admired your work and your vision.
01:33 So we're really, really happy to have you here with us today.
01:36 Welcome.
01:36 - Thank you so much, Shruti.
01:38 It's a pleasure to be here on this call.
01:40 - Thank you so much.
01:42 So Mr. Dev, as you might recall in February this year,
01:47 when we were there for the annual
01:49 Outlook Responsible Tourism Summit and Awards,
01:51 which we held at the Eco Retreat in Konark,
01:55 in your special address, you said, and I quote,
01:57 "The next four or five years is going to be
01:59 very exciting times for Orissa tourism.
02:01 And our objective and vision is to be among
02:03 the top destinations in the country for tourists.
02:06 We are committed to make it happen."
02:08 You also told us that the budgets for tourism
02:10 had been doubled.
02:12 So, you know, after all that, and in the light now
02:16 of the pandemic, the cyclone, which I believe, you know,
02:19 you've been working night and day to, you know,
02:21 mitigate the impact of that,
02:23 and the looming possibility of a third wave,
02:25 what does the roadmap of recovery look like
02:27 for you in Orissa?
02:29 Could you share a few thoughts, any plans that you're,
02:32 you know, that you're working on already?
02:34 - Sure, Shruti.
02:36 You know, the pandemic has hit the tourism
02:39 and hospitality sector the worst.
02:40 All of us are aware of it, all of us are a part of it,
02:42 and we've been suffering on account of this pandemic.
02:46 So, at Orissa, you see, the idea has basically been
02:53 as to how together, along with all our stakeholders,
02:57 the, you know, hotels, resorts, tour operators, restaurants,
03:02 how do all of us come together, work together
03:05 to make sure that things improve as the pandemic slows down.
03:10 As far as our roadmap is concerned,
03:12 so last year, after the first wave, you know,
03:17 we had sat down on our tables and done a brainstorming
03:21 as to what would work.
03:23 And we had come up with a plan called Orissa by Road,
03:26 because we realized people had apprehensions
03:29 and reservations about traveling by air,
03:31 traveling by train, which is still there.
03:34 So we thought that encouraging road journeys,
03:37 you know, within the confines of their own private vehicles
03:40 would click and do well.
03:45 And we therefore launched the Orissa by Road campaign,
03:49 focusing on traveling by ODIs within the state,
03:52 as well as from our four neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh,
03:57 Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Viswanath.
03:59 We'd also done roadshows in all these four states,
04:03 and the response was very good.
04:05 So if you, you know, look at a macro perspective,
04:08 we, our tagline says India's best kept secret,
04:10 because when we started holding roadshows
04:15 across the country, one feedback that we got
04:18 was whenever we used to talk about the offerings of Orissa
04:22 as a tourist destination,
04:23 people always knew of Jagannath, Puri, and Gunarkh.
04:28 But when we spoke about wildlife tourism, eco tourism,
04:31 you know, our beaches, et cetera,
04:33 they were kind of overwhelmed saying that
04:37 we were aware Orissa offered so much.
04:39 And therefore, you know,
04:40 this tagline of India's best kept secret.
04:43 But the plan also is we don't want it to be a secret
04:46 for too long.
04:47 So over a period of, let's say the next five years,
04:50 we would like it to become from India's best kept secret
04:54 to one of India's most sought after holiday destinations.
04:58 So that's the plan.
04:59 And as I mentioned, short term, you know,
05:02 Orissa by road, we had come up with eco retreats,
05:06 of which you were also a part, you saw one at Gunarkh.
05:09 So that has done exceptionally well.
05:12 We started with one at Gunarkh in 2019, 20,
05:15 last year, 2020, 21.
05:17 We took it to five locations,
05:19 and this year we'll be expanding it to six locations.
05:23 So these three, four campaigns would do well,
05:27 I'm sure, to revive tourism in the short term.
05:31 In the long term, you see,
05:32 we realized that there has been a paradigm shift
05:35 in the way people look at tourism.
05:37 I remember, you know, 30, 40 years back when
05:42 we used to be traveling with our parents,
05:43 you know, we had a checklist of destinations
05:46 or sites to be visited.
05:47 It was more of a sightseeing thing.
05:49 And you kind of clicked it on the paper
05:52 that you were carrying,
05:52 that all right, this is done and dusted with.
05:55 But today the tourists want more immersive experiences,
05:59 you know, more beach experiences.
06:01 So we are working on our themes,
06:05 which Orissa offers as a tourist destination,
06:08 beach, spiritual heritage, wildlife, eco-tourism,
06:12 art and crafts, culinary, ethnic tourism, et cetera.
06:16 And we're looking at building curated itineraries,
06:20 which would be able to provide
06:21 immersive experiences to tourism.
06:24 And that is what we plan to roll out,
06:25 apart from several new products,
06:28 which we are looking at, houseboards, you know,
06:30 cruisers, river cruisers, et cetera.
06:33 So this is the overall strategy.
06:38 - That's absolutely wonderful.
06:39 And, you know, it's fantastic to see that,
06:43 you know, your plans,
06:44 you remain steadfast on the path that you would,
06:47 you know, charted out for us early on.
06:49 So clearly nothing has changed,
06:51 even though so many variables have entered into the context.
06:56 So that's wonderful to know.
06:58 And, you know, you've already touched upon this.
07:00 You spoke about niche tourism,
07:02 about the fact that people want immersive experiences.
07:05 And, you know, maybe one really hopes
07:07 that finally they will take longer, you know,
07:10 longer holidays and explore areas, you know,
07:14 with a keener eye.
07:15 But having said that, the pandemic has dealt a blow,
07:19 as all of us know, to the ideas of,
07:21 I mean, although more people
07:22 are talking about sustainability,
07:23 it has dealt a blow somewhat to, you know,
07:26 to things that we are taking for granted.
07:29 You know, a lot of people were reducing plastics and so on.
07:32 You know, some of that is now taking a backseat
07:35 because there's fear.
07:36 And until we, you know, until there are protocols
07:39 that address these issues, that won't happen.
07:41 So from the perspective of sustainability, sir,
07:44 and from the perspective of community-led
07:46 or community-run interventions,
07:49 some of which you already have in your state,
07:51 and, you know, I'm really hoping
07:53 that you'll be scaling them, you know,
07:55 or looking at replicating them.
07:57 So in that context, in the context of responsible tourism,
08:01 where does that fit into your future plans?
08:03 If you could just maybe elaborate a little bit on that.
08:06 - Sure.
08:07 Swati, you know, sustainability is intrinsic
08:10 to our entire development and promotion strategy
08:12 as far as tourism is concerned.
08:13 It starts right from the very top.
08:16 Honorable Chief Minister, Srinivasan Patnaik
08:18 is very, very particular about, you know,
08:20 ensuring that we promote responsible
08:23 and sustainable tourism.
08:25 And if you look at what we've been doing
08:27 over the last several decades or several years,
08:29 you'll realize that, you know,
08:31 we actually walk the talk
08:33 when it comes to sustainability.
08:36 If you look at Chilka itself,
08:37 the second largest brackish water lake in the world,
08:41 it's a classic case of, you know,
08:46 reforming and converting poachers to protectors.
08:51 - Protectors. - At Mangalajodi.
08:52 You know, it's a case study which has been,
08:54 which has even been appreciated globally.
08:58 And the number of Irawalli dolphins in Chilka Lake
09:01 has also been going up.
09:02 So is the number of birds that we get.
09:05 It's the largest wintering ground of migratory birds today
09:09 in the entire Indian subcontinent.
09:10 And this year we had about 1.1 million birds
09:14 across 190 species which visited Chilka Lake.
09:18 So that's a classic example of, you know,
09:20 our efforts towards ensuring sustainability
09:24 in all our initiatives for development tourism.
09:28 It is also there in the way we go about
09:30 protecting all the predatory turtles,
09:32 the crocodilians species in Bitharkanika.
09:36 So moving forward, if you EcoRetreat,
09:40 which when we did the Responsible Tourism Awards
09:43 in February this year,
09:44 it's also the outstanding example of sustainable tourism.
09:48 It's a zero waste event
09:50 and it marries several environment friendly practices.
09:55 You have heard of Bitharkanika,
09:58 so we've had diesel boats running there.
10:00 We are converting those diesel boats
10:02 into electric and solar run boats.
10:04 The project starts this year.
10:06 In Chilka we're also converting the,
10:09 most of the boats that run in Chilka,
10:11 tourist boats are wooden boats.
10:12 So we are converting them to IR class compliant RFP boats,
10:17 which will provide a much better
10:20 and much more comfortable experience to tourists.
10:23 So the idea is to marry promotion,
10:25 development and sustainability.
10:27 And I think one of the most important fact
10:32 in this entire debate of sustainability is,
10:37 you'll be happy to know that our green cover
10:40 has actually gone up from 34% to 39% over the last 10 years.
10:45 And we are one of those rare states
10:47 where it's actually happening.
10:48 And between 2017 and 19,
10:50 our forest cover has grown up by about 274 square kilometers.
10:55 So that kind of talks about the effort that we put in,
10:59 in ensuring that whatever we do
11:01 is sustainable and responsible.
11:03 And also to talk about Blue Flag beaches,
11:08 Puri Golden Beach was amongst India's first beaches
11:13 which got the Blue Flag certificate.
11:16 We are developing another five beaches
11:18 to Blue Flag standards.
11:19 So all in all, whatever we do for promoting
11:24 and developing tourism in Odisha
11:28 is intrinsic, sustainability is an intrinsic part of that.
11:32 So on the community, let tourism development,
11:36 I would like to talk about our eco-tourism model,
11:38 which is a unique model and again,
11:43 has won several awards internationally as well.
11:47 We have about 600 community members
11:51 which manage 47 nature camps.
11:54 These nature camps were set up by the government
11:57 and have been handed over to the community for management.
11:59 We also provided them training on food and beverage,
12:02 housekeeping, overall accounts, et cetera.
12:05 The plan now is to scale up these 47 nature camps,
12:11 increase their capacity substantially, almost double it.
12:16 And also look at several new destinations,
12:19 eco-tourism destinations.
12:21 And we're also engaging with the community
12:24 to see that they're trained as naturalists and guides.
12:29 Because these are all places which are near
12:32 wildlife sanctuaries, beautiful forest destinations, et cetera.
12:36 So we need more naturalists, more tour guides
12:39 to help people who are visiting these places.
12:43 So therefore, we'll also be training them.
12:45 And of course, the eco-retreat,
12:47 which we started with one destination two years back
12:50 is now means 500 to six destinations.
12:52 - Absolutely, so thank you so much for sharing that.
12:56 And for even, it's wonderful to know
12:58 that the green cover has increased.
13:00 And I know you just spoke about Bitar Kanika.
13:02 It's telling, right?
13:06 I mean, it was in the papers when the cyclone hit Orissa
13:10 that Bitar Kanika, even though it was so close
13:12 to the place where the cyclone made the landfall,
13:16 it was protected by the mangroves.
13:19 It was protected by, yeah.
13:22 So it was, so clearly something somewhere is working well.
13:25 And congratulations to you on that front.
13:28 My question, next question to you, sir, is,
13:33 I know it's rather difficult to predict at this point,
13:38 but are there any, I mean,
13:40 what are your instincts telling you?
13:42 Are there, what is the timeline for recovery in India?
13:45 And are there any strong trends that you think will endure?
13:48 You've already talked about sustainability
13:51 and you've talked about niche travel.
13:54 So along those lines, are there any other trends
13:56 that you see that might endure
13:58 and that we should be preparing for?
14:03 - Well, there are various stories going around.
14:07 Someone says it's gonna be a U-shaped recovery.
14:10 Now we start talking of a W-shaped recovery.
14:13 So there are all sorts of stories,
14:14 but I think common sense says that once a large percentage
14:20 of our population is vaccinated,
14:22 it'll be much safer to travel.
14:25 And people are very, very keen on traveling.
14:29 That's what our people,
14:29 the occupancy levels told us.
14:32 They are wanting to travel, to go out,
14:36 to see the world again,
14:38 immersive experiences as we were talking of.
14:41 So I think from, as a sector, all of us,
14:46 if we look at all the stakeholders put together,
14:49 I would say it'll depend on our ability
14:51 to inspire confidence among the travelers
14:54 that we are a safe place to travel,
14:57 we are a safe state or a safe country to come to.
15:00 And towards that end,
15:01 we had started several initiatives last year itself.
15:05 So we had organized perhaps the largest sensitization
15:10 and training and capacity building program
15:12 for stakeholders across the spectrum.
15:14 So we looked at employees working in hotels,
15:16 employees working in restaurants.
15:18 We looked at cab drivers, Uber drivers, taxi drivers,
15:22 and we had given them a training program
15:25 on COVID specific protocols that they need to follow.
15:29 So that will be very important.
15:32 And we should also be able to showcase to the world
15:37 about the measures that we are taking
15:41 for making travel safer and more secure.
15:43 I think that'd be very important.
15:45 - Right, I think you're doing a very good job.
15:48 In fact, I mean, I must say on social media
15:49 and on your website,
15:51 because I think that's going to be critical.
15:53 Either, like you said, inspiring confidence in travelers
15:57 and through technology,
15:59 because a lot of us are consuming it digitally.
16:01 All our information is coming to us mostly digitally.
16:05 So that's fantastic.
16:07 And is there anything in particular in terms of policies
16:12 or support that you are hoping to give to MSMEs
16:17 or smaller operators, smaller homestay owners
16:20 or hoteliers or travel operators?
16:22 What is it?
16:23 Is there anything that you're thinking?
16:25 Because a lot of them really,
16:26 I mean, their reserves are running out.
16:27 So what would you say to them?
16:30 - So we've had several rounds of discussions
16:34 with the industry stakeholders,
16:36 owners of hotels, resorts, tour operators, restaurants,
16:40 et cetera.
16:41 And we are working on a package of support
16:44 for the sector to kind of tide through the crisis.
16:47 That is one aspect primarily.
16:52 And the other thing is,
16:54 we're coming up with several new policies
16:57 from the government side.
16:58 So we're going to be encouraging homestays in a big way.
17:01 Homestays are a very important part of our strategy
17:05 for introducing immersive experiences.
17:08 So we're promoting homestays in a big way.
17:10 We're incentivizing people to upgrade,
17:14 renovate their homestays and to start homestays
17:17 in some select destinations in the state.
17:20 We're also coming out,
17:22 in fact, we already have homestay policies out.
17:26 We also come up with a policy for replacing boats.
17:28 We plan to replace about a thousand boats
17:30 at Chilacat to start with,
17:31 from wooden to FRP, class compliant boats.
17:36 And the key policy initiative
17:39 would be the tourism policy of 2021 of the current year.
17:42 Because the last policy we had come out in 2016.
17:45 So in this policy, we're looking at incentivizing
17:49 and encouraging the private sector
17:51 to come and invest in the state.
17:53 You know, whether it's setting up hotels, resorts, et cetera,
17:56 or it's setting up various other tourism projects.
17:59 So we are looking at giving them
18:01 a substantial capital investment subsidy,
18:03 interest subvention, you know,
18:06 EPF and training needs of the employees
18:09 being met by the government and several such initiatives.
18:11 So the idea, I would love to have the best tourism policy
18:15 in the country amongst all the states.
18:17 And that is what we're working towards.
18:19 The other thing was, you know,
18:20 how do we promote domestic tourism within the state?
18:24 How do we see that more footfalls?
18:26 So, Shruthi, you know, when we talk about
18:29 increasing footfalls to a particular state,
18:31 we are again kind of getting into a competition
18:34 with other states.
18:35 So whether it's Rajasthan or Kerala
18:37 versus Odisha or Tarakalip,
18:40 I think we have to move to an approach
18:43 where we think of increasing the size of the game.
18:48 We're not talking of competition and towards that end,
18:51 you know, Odisha has been leading this dialogue
18:53 on promoting regional long duration circuits.
18:57 So the idea being that if somebody's, let's say,
18:59 visiting West Bengal or Assam,
19:02 you know, he or she could also include Odisha in the trip.
19:06 So the idea is to promote long duration circuits
19:09 and regional circuits,
19:11 which would also require cooperation
19:13 among different states.
19:14 So we would have seamless journeys
19:17 between Odisha, Assam, Bihar, et cetera.
19:20 That's one of the things.
19:21 And, you know, we are also trying to showcase
19:26 our potential, our destinations,
19:29 which have been hitherto unexplored.
19:31 So we're working with several TV channels
19:34 and, you know, media promotion is of course happening
19:38 across all the four channels,
19:39 print, electronic, digital, and social media.
19:44 But we have worked out,
19:46 we're working with the CETV, Zoom TV, et cetera,
19:49 to come up with specific series
19:53 wherein people would be, you know,
19:55 able to see various destinations within Odisha.
20:00 And I believe the CETV series,
20:03 it was a six part series,
20:04 it was received very well.
20:06 There's another one with Zoom TV,
20:07 which is going to come out.
20:08 We're also looking at doing specific series
20:10 of promoting Odia cuisine,
20:12 you know, promoting culinary tourism, et cetera.
20:16 Sports tourism is something which we pioneered
20:18 way back in 2018 when we hosted the Hockey World Cup.
20:22 And we've got two very, very important sporting events
20:26 in the next two years.
20:27 So we're going to be hosting the FIFA
20:30 Under-17 Women's World Cup.
20:33 And Bhubaneswar is one of the five major destinations.
20:35 And we are not only having one entire pool dedicated to us,
20:40 but we'll also be hosting a quarterfinal
20:41 and a semifinal.
20:43 And of course, so that is in October next year,
20:46 followed by the Hockey World Cup in January, 2023.
20:49 So these two events, again,
20:50 will provide us an opportunity of, you know,
20:53 working on sports tourism,
20:54 the concept that we pioneered.
20:57 We're also looking at adding more events
21:00 to our annual calendar.
21:01 So typically, most of our prominent events
21:04 like the Gunaag Festival,
21:06 the Mukteshwar Dance Festival,
21:07 the Raja Rani Music Festival, et cetera,
21:09 they're all limited to that October to March period.
21:13 We're trying to see that we have events every month
21:18 and to promote Odisha as an year-long destination.
21:21 And of course, with this circuit,
21:22 which is not much known,
21:27 you know, people from South Asia and East Asia
21:31 travel to Sarnath, Bodh Gaya.
21:34 Whereas if you look at Buddhism,
21:37 Odisha played a key role in the spread of Buddhism
21:40 from India to Sri Lanka, et cetera.
21:42 So we are working on highlighting that aspect also
21:45 and promoting that.
21:46 So infrastructure development
21:48 at some of our priority destinations.
21:50 We typically have 358 destinations
21:54 which are designated as tourist destinations,
21:56 but we are looking at integrated land development
22:00 of 17 destinations,
22:02 you know, wherein we want to provide tourists
22:05 a much better experience when they visit, when they arrive.
22:10 And so these are the strategies moving forward.
22:12 And Buddhist circuit, as I mentioned,
22:14 also figures very prominently
22:15 in this scheme of infrastructure development.
22:17 - So it already sounds like a fantastic policy
22:21 if you are already, you know,
22:22 you're thinking of all of these various things.
22:23 And I hope that the incentives draw in the right kind of,
22:28 you know, operators, the right kind of practitioners.
22:33 So all the best to you.
22:34 And before we go, I just wanted to ask you a quick question,
22:38 which is where are you planning to travel next, sir?
22:41 Sorry, I just had to ask.
22:43 - I had planned to visit Kashmir this time in June,
22:47 but then, you know, lockdowns and all,
22:49 we have a lockdown there as well.
22:51 So, but let's, I mean, there are several places,
22:53 but I think traveling within India
22:56 is what the focus would be for me.
22:58 - Absolutely.
22:59 So it's true for all of us, sir.
23:01 So, you know, finally, I think we're looking inwards
23:04 and hoping to explore our own country.
23:06 So that's fantastic.
23:08 This morning I was reading, you know,
23:11 maybe it was a news story in one of the papers
23:14 on how 150 families of Pata Chitra artists are,
23:19 you know, at Raghurajpur are busy painting
23:21 the outer walls of their homes.
23:23 And, you know, it just filled us with such joy
23:28 because clearly it hasn't restarted in the way
23:33 that perhaps we were hoping that it will this summer.
23:37 But clearly there is a lot to explore when we go back,
23:41 and especially in Odisha.
23:43 And all the best to you, sir.
23:44 Thank you so much for your time.
23:46 And we hope to stay connected.
23:49 We hope to walk with you along this path
23:52 and see how we can all recover together as a community
23:55 and, you know, bounce back from what has been
23:59 rather difficult year and a half.
24:01 So thank you very much once again, sir.
24:02 Thank you for joining us.
24:03 - Thank you, Shruti.
24:04 Thanks a lot.
24:05 - Thank you.
24:06 (upbeat music)
24:09 (upbeat music)