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 Odisha Tourism gets the Best Tourism Festival Destination Award and Best Heritage State Award April 11, 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 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. RS Khwaja, Secretary, Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Manisha Nanda, Secretary, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Himachal Pradesh, Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary, Tourism Devastan Management Pilgrimage, Govt. of Gujarat and Ajaya Gupta, CMD of International Tourism Conclave & Travel Award. Prof. Dhumal also awarded other international tourism companies, boards, departments, destinations, hotels, resorts, travel agencies for excellence in tourism. The other States which received the awards were Himachal Pradesh Tourism, Gujarat Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Chhatisgarh Tourism, Maharashtra 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 and 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 and folk music and dance. Odisha got this recognition as the Best Tourism Festival Destination Award for its innovative and culture related activities during the past few years. The rich cultural heritage of Odisha has been showcased 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 American 3D chalk artist and Sudarshan Pattnaik, international sand artist was organized by Odisha Tourism in collaboration with US Consulate General, Hyderabad, which was also a rare event of its kind organized in India.
Odisha Tourism has bagged the PATWA International Award under the category Best Heritage State in India for 2012 in a prestigious award ceremony at ITB Berlin. Director Tourism, Shri HS Upadhyay, and President Tour Operator Association Mr. Simon Benjamin were present at the ceremony to receive the award. PATWA organizes international awards every year at the ITB Berlin, which is the world's biggest travel fair attended by exhibitors from 180 countries and more than 7000 journalists. The PATWA award is given in cooperation with Messe Berlin, to recognize Governments, individuals, organizations involved in promotion of tourism from various sectors such as aviation, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, government agencies and the like. The PATWA is the world's biggest ‘Travel Writers’ organization, represented by members from 70 countries across the world. The aim of the PATWA International Award is to honor the destinations, entrepreneurs, who have made an invaluable contribution in Aviation, Hospitality and Tourism industry. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General-UNWTO, Ray Bloom, Chairman, IMEX and Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister for Tourism, Government of India were specially present during the ceremony amongst a large number of diplomats, State professionals, Ministers of Tourism and media from all over the world. Efforts by Tourism Department, under the stewardship of Mr. AK Tripathy, Principal Secretary, to promote Odisha as a cultural and heritage destination by organizing various international festivals and running successful media campaigns in both print and electronic media have borne fruits. The Award ceremony took place on 8 March 2012 at 2-ICC Building, ITB. International Women’s Day was also celebrated during the function with the support of United Nations World Tourism Organisation. |
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