High Hopes from the Tourism Industry as the Odisha Government Launches the Viability Gap Funding Scheme
The Odisha government hopes to double the number of international tourists visiting the state by 2025 from their pre-pandemic levels with the introduction of direct flights from Bhubaneswar to Dubai, Bangkok, and Singapore under the “Viability Gap Funding” plan, a tourism official said on Monday.
A government subsidy known as “Viability Gap Funding” (VGF) is given to airlines to close the gap between the cost of operations and anticipated revenues.
According to Sachin Jadhav, Director of Tourism Odisha, “the target is to double the foreign tourist arrivals to 2.5 lakh by 2025 from the pre-Covid peak of 1.2 lakh witnessed in 2019.”
The budget for the current fiscal year for the government of Odisha includes Rs 660 crore for the tourist industry.
During the Odisha Tourism Roadshow here, Jadhav said, “We expect a surge in international tourists taking onward flights to Odisha with the launch of direct flights with these three cities.”
According to him, by beginning direct flights to Bangkok and Singapore on June 3 and Bhubaneswar to Dubai on May 15, respectively, “we have shown a more proactive approach.”
According to him, connecting Bhubaneswar to these three locations would strengthen economic ties as well as tourism.
By 2025, Jadhav projects that yearly visitor arrivals would have grown by an average of 10-15%, with a compound average annual rise of 25%.
He believes that in marketing Odisha as a top travel destination, the Odia diaspora would serve as ambassadors.
Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, gave his approval to Indigo Airlines’ request to fly from Bhubaneswar to Dubai, Singapore, and Bangkok in December 2022.
