(From top) Subarneswar temple in Bhubaneswar, varieties of rice from Jeypore Valley in Koraput, Kunti temple in the Mahendragiri Hills in Gajapati district and carvings on the wall of Kapileswar temple, Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, April 15: Odisha tourism received two distinct awards for promoting heritage and festivals from Pacific Travel Writers’ Association (Patwa) and International Tourism Conclave and Travel Award (ITCTA) last week.

However, the state still lacks behind when it comes to promoting innovative concepts related to places of interest. As the World Heritage Day comes calling next week, the state should emphasise on highlighting its rich heritage, including centres involved in making art and crafts, and the rural lifestyle, which makes Odisha different from other regions.

One of the new concepts that could be developed is farm or agriculture tourism. If promoted in the right manner, this will bring the Jeypore valley in Koraput district into focus, as this region is home to one of world’s oldest varieties of rice. Some strains are as old as 3,000 years.

Then there is Raghurajpur, the heritage crafts village in Puri, which occupies a unique place in the state’s cultural setting.

“Apart from Raghurajpur, model craft centres should be developed where tourists can have glimpses the various types of art and crafts from the state. On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, we have one such place, Gangotri Nagar. But the authorities should plan regional and district-level craft development centres to promote tourism,” said Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) chairman J.K. Mohanty.

Odisha is also lagging behind in promoting its heritage sites.

“As per the data available with the department of archaeology, government of India, while only 8,505 foreign tourists visited Konark Sun Temple, over six lakh tourists visited the Taj Mahal in 2010. Other places such as Fatehpur Sikri (2,16,920 tourists), Hampi (35,446), Agra Fort (3,39,146), Ajanta and Ellora caves (32,276) and Khajuraho (93,639) also saw a huge turnout. So, we have to do a lot of campaigning to ensure that more tourists visit heritage sites in Odisha. The Buddhist and Jain heritage sites are equally important. As they are situated close to the capital, convenient tourist packages should be developed,” Mohanty said.

“Along with promoting heritage, provision should be made for more hotel rooms. Twenty-five major hotels in the state have 1,306 rooms. That should be enhanced to 4,000 immediately if we want to compete with other states. On the other hand, right destination and product campaigns, connectivity, private participation and tax incentives can also help bring in more tourists to state,” said Debasish Mohapatra, chief executive officer of K7 Holidays.

Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has started a series of package tours to promote destinations, but for heritage tours either collaborative efforts with other private players or development of the OTDC properties can yield good results.

“Although many tourists are attracted to trekking events and jungle tours, the recent hostage crisis has hit this segment badly. So, more emphasis on heritage sites and their promotion will help the tourism sector in a big way. Packaging the plan with traditional rural-based tourism can also draw crowds, especially budget tourists,” said Surya Narayan Das, an art and culture activist of Gangotri Nagar.

General manager of OTDC Manoranjan Patnaik said the Patwa and ITCTA recognitions would definitely promote tourism activities in the state.