Odisha Tourism participated in the recently concluded IATO Annual Convention held at the Grand Bhagawati Palace, Indore, Madhya Pradesh from August 20-22, 2015.
Ashok Chandra Panda, minister of tourism and culture, Govt of Odisha; Anil Kumar Samal, IAS director and addl. secretary, Department of Tourism, Govt. of Odisha and other senior tourism department officials attended the convention.
The minister in his speech spoke about the tourism potential of Odisha and highlighted about the air connectivity from Bhubaneswar to Varanasi with special focus on East and North-East states in promoting these states.
The director tourism gave a presentation on the state and highlighted about the strengths of Odisha Tourism, new incentives and strategy for promotion, etc. He also elaborated on the Shamuka Project, Eco-Tourism projects at Chilika Lake and recently opened light and sound show at Dhauli. Odisha Tourism stall bagged two awards, one in best stall category and one in the most valuable partner category at the exhibition held concurrently with the convention.