Bhubaneswar: The number of domestic tourists visiting Odisha has been continuously increasing since 2014 till 2018. The same is for foreigners except for 2015 when the figures went down a little.
In response to a starred question raised in the Assembly by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the Tourism Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi of Odisha gave this information.
In 2014 the number of domestic visitors were over 1.5 crore. In 2015, a total of 1,17,86,117 domestic tourists visited different locations in Odisha, followed by 1,28,42, 899 in 2016, 1,40,11,229 in 2017 and 1,52,08,540 in 2018.
Likewise, a total of 71,426 foreigners visited Odisha in 2014. However, in 2015, the footfall of foreign tourists decreased to 66, 971. However, the number again went up in 2016, with arrival of 76,361 foreign travellers. In 2017 and 2018, the number of foreigners visiting Odisha were 1,00,014 and 1,10, 818 respectively.
Panigrahi also informed that the government has taken up various projects for the development of tourist spots in Koraput district. For 13 development projects, the government has sanctioned Rs 5,09,44,012 between the 2014-15 and 2019-20 financial years, he informed.
PNN