As
we all know, the economy of a State or a country consists of various income
generating productive activities. These activities taken together constitute
the structure of an economy which can be broadly divided into three sectors. These
include the primary sector secondary sector and the tertiary sector. In our society
most of the people are engaged in firming while some others are employed in the
other two sectors. Though the primary sector in India is supporting most of the
people for a long period of time, the other two sectors are coming out strongly
in recent years. In fact the wheel of progress has turned full-circle and the
primary sector has now been relegated to the third spot in terms of relative
share of different sectors to our GDP.
To
have a glimpse of what has happened to the structure of our economy over the
years, it may be mentioned that the contribution of the primary sector has
declined from 56.5% in 1950- 51 to 19.7% while that of the services sector has gone
up to 54.1% in 2005-06. This sector has thus now become the leading sector of
the Indian economy.
Services
sector consists of different kinds of services including banking and insurance,
trade and commerce, transport and communication as well as tourism and hotel
industry. Among these sub-sectors, Tourism has a special place and it is better
known for its employment potential. Apart from earning valuable foreign
exchange, it stimulates hotel industry, retail trade and transport services of
the country concerned. As per the estimates of the Planning Commission, a
capital investment of about Rs.10 lakhs in the tourism industry creates
employment for 89 people while the same investment could create jobs for 45 people
in the primary sector and only 13, in the secondary sector, thus signifying the
role of this sector in the field of employment generation.
Apart
from traditional tourism, medical tourism, eco-tourism and adventure tourism
have added new dimensions to the tourism industry. In recent years, high-end
Indian hospitals providing world standard health care facilities at comparative
cheap rate have been attracting a size-able number of patients from the advanced
countries like U.S.A, UK and others. By promoting its private health care
sector as a tourist attraction, India is on the brink of becoming one of the
world's important medical destinations. Not only the remedial access time here
much quicker, but also healing has now gone high tech. All these have made
India a hub of medical tourism. In fact Indians tourism industry has gone to
new height in recent times. Both tourist arrival as well as revenue earned
thereof are showing a steep hike.
As
per the World Travel and Tourism Council estimate, this sector now generate more
than 4% of the country's GDP and more than 20 crore jobs.
Among
the different regions of the country, North India attracts the highest number
of tourists. As a whole, 49% of foreign tourists throng to this part of the
country while Western India attracts 29% of them. With 18 % of foreign tourist,
South India remains in the third spot while Eastern region has a very
negligible share of only 4 % of foreign tourists. Situated in the Eastern part
of the country, Odisha has been the tourists' paradise right from the hoary
past. In the ancient times, religious preachers and social reformers had come
to Odisha to countenance the cult of Jagannath. Saints and savants had visited
the land to strengthen their religious convictions. Now-a-days, tourists come to
Odisha not merely for visiting places of pilgrimage, but also to see the art
and architecture of the temples. Odisha otherwise known as 'Utkal' stands for
excellence in the field of art and architecture. Its glorious past is best
explained in Kapilamuni's description that reads:
"Vershanam
Bharata Srestho, Deshanam Utkala srutah, Utkalasya Samodesha Nasti Nasti Mahi
Tale"
Apart
from the religious places, beautiful temples and artistic sculpture, there are
several other spots of scenic beauty that attract tourists from far and near.
Puri, Bhubaneswar and Konark have been attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists
from different parts of the country and abroad. Festivals like Rath Yatra
attract millions of tourists from different parts of the world while Snanayatra,
Jhulan Yatra, Kartika Brata and Chandan Yatra of Lord Jagannath at Puri and Ashokastami
Rath Yatra of Lord Lingaraj at Bhubaneswar attract millions of Hindus. Artistic
excellence of the black pagoda at Konark enthralls tourists from different regions
and the improvement in infrastructural facilities proved immensely useful in
development of tourist industry in Odisha.
Persons
interested in antiquities come to Odisha to have a glimpse of Dhauligiri and Khandagiri
in the neighbourhood of Bhubaneswar as well as Pushpagiri Buddha Vihar at
Lalitagiri in the district of Jajpur. Health seekers come to golden beach at
Konark, Puri or Gopalpur to spend some time. Chilka, the largest brackish water
lake in Asia where migratory birds and Dolphins are of special attraction is
another tourist spot in the state. Nature lovers also find enjoyment by going
to Nandankanan near Bhubaneswar, Similipal National Park and Tiger Project in
Mayurbhanj, Saptasajya and Kapilas Hills in Dhenkanal, Bhitarakanika wildlife sanctuary
in Kendrapara as well as beautiful waterfalls of Duduma,Ghagra and Khandadhar.
Inspite
of the presence of such picturesque tourist spots and places of historical
importance, tourism in Orissa has occupied a backseat. Tourist arrival in the
state has kept a very low profile. As per the official estimates, the annual foreign
tourist arrival to the state is limited within 25,000 to 30,000 while inland
tourist arrival is limited to about 40 lakhs. Again more than half of them are
found to be local tourists. This means Odisha gets a very negligible share of
tourists coming into the country. Leaving behind Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar,
no other tourist spot could attract sizeable number of tourists. There are a
number of factors responsible for such sorry state of affairs and immediate
attention is needed to develop it. Our discussion would be incomplete without
mentioning them.
We
know that the growth of tourism depends on the existence of attractive tourist spots,
proper transport and communication facilities including well connected rail
network and frequent air services. Airports of international standard are a
must for the tourism industry to prosper. It also depends on safe accommodation
for which we need motels, hotels and guest houses of high standard. Besides,
the mindset of the local people and the cordiality with which they accept
tourists has a lot to do in this regard. A close look at all these aspects
reveals that a number of snags are there to act as stumbling blocks on the path
of tourism industry in Odisha. We mention few of them.
(1)
Except attractive tourist spots, what we lack is satisfactory connectivity.
Transport and communication facilities are not developed enough for the
convenience of the tourists. We in Odisha do not have rail network all-round
and there are more than 10 districts without rail connectivity.
(2)
Apart from poor transport and communication facilities, the absence of good accommodation
act as a bottleneck in the field of tourism in Odisha. We do not have
sufficient number of hotels and rest houses of international standard in the
vicinity of tourist spots. Safety rather than luxury matters and here also we
lag behind.
(3)
Though Odias are known for their hospitality since time immemorial, some
unwanted changes have now crept into the mindset of the local people. Tourists
are often subject to harassment even by the servitors at different religious
places. We come across incidents of robbery, extortion, exploitation, molestation
and manhandling of the tourists in different tourist spots. These acts have a
damaging effect on tourist arrival to which the authorities give a blind eye.
(4)
People world over are now concerned over the issue of environmental degradation
while we in Odisha are sitting idle. We find garbage here and there, hoards of
polythene bag and sachet wherever we go. What is more disgusting is the fact
that people often answer the calls of nature in open spaces, road sides or even
in public places, thereby creating unhealthy atmosphere. This is partly due to
overcrowding and lack of sufficient number of public toilets and partly to lack
of consciousness. Parking fees and entry fees are collected everywhere from the
tourists but not much attention is given to the improvement of the site in
particular. Be it Chilika lake, Nandankanan, Puri or Dhauligiri, everywhere we
take note of the same thing.
(5)
There is also the absence of effective promotional campaign to woo the tourists
into Odisha. A proper tours and travel campaign depicting the rich cultural heritage
and scenic beauty of different tourist spots along with other essential
information on the lines of "incredible India campaign" should be
aired in Television channels as well as World Wide Web. It is proved beyond
doubt, that a well thought-out tourism policy will help a lot in this regard.
(6)
Another gray area in Odisha tourism is the absence of public-private
co-operation. For the wholesome development of tourism industry like the one
achieved by Srilanka, what we need is effective public-private co-operation.
(7)
There is also Government apathy and lack of public interest for which tourism
has not made much headway in Odisha.
To
make Odisha a tourist hub what we need most is a well developed transport and communication
facilities, development of tourist spots, creation of eco-tourism and adventure
tourism spots and to have a realistic look at the tourism policy. Odisha could
gain much through the development of tourism and time has come for the
planners, economists, bureaucrat, travel industry and each and everyone
associated with tourism to come forward to make tourism a leading sector of the
state's economy. There is also the need to educate the people regarding the benefits
of this activity. A well-thought-out tourism policy is also urgently needed.
Dr. Kamal
Kumar Pani
Astarang
College, Puri
Courtsey:
Odisha Review
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon