Bhubaneswar: The city's tourism and heritage potential received a boost with the maiden visit of Cupertino mayor Savitha Vaidyan-athan on Friday.

Vaidyanathan is the first Indian-origin mayor of the city in California, home to the Apple headquarters.

Sources said Vaidya-nathan arrived in the city to discuss steps to strengthen tourism, heritage and infrastructure ties between the cities. They will also explore possible avenues of collaborations in the ongoing smart city project.

Cupertino had adopted Bhubaneswar as a sister city in November 2012 for effective co-ordination and interaction in various sectors between the two cities and have been in touch through the Cupertino-Bhubaneswar Sister City Initiative.

"The Cupertino mayor's visit means a lot to us. After becoming the first smart city in the country, Bhubaneswar has created a different image across the globe. This visit will help us get more attention from sectors such as tourism and information and technology,'' said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

Through the sister city initiative, individuals and institutions have already been engaged in Cupertino and Bhubaneswar to create sustainable smart cities through an exchange of environment, economic, educational, cultural and research ideas, expertise and resource.

Sources said that during her weeklong stay in the state, Vaidyanathan would visit popular tourist destinations, including Puri, Konark, Pipili, Dhauli, Khandagiri-Udayagiri, Rajarani Temple, Berhampur and Gopalpur. She will also address a special session of the civic body on Monday.

Bhubaneswar is the only Indian city adopted by Cupertino as a sister city. Its other sister cities are Toyokama in Japan, Hsinchu in Taiwan and Copertino in Italy. The Cupertino city council also observes Indian festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Independence Day in honour of its ties with Bhubaneswar.