Bhubaneswar, Feb 24 (IANS) In a significant step towards positioning Odisha as a premier adventure tourism hub in Eastern India, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Tuesday launched the ‘Go-Adventure’ portal in a programme held at Lok Seva Bhavan here.

On the occasion, the state government also signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) and the Aero Club of India (ACI) to boost adventure tourism in the state. Addressing the gathering, Deputy CM Parida emphasised safety as the cornerstone of the state’s adventure tourism expansion.

“Through international partnerships and a new focus on spiritual and experience-based travel, the government plans to modernise the sector and attract fresh investment from young entrepreneurs,” said Parida.

The Deputy CM also appreciated the joint efforts of the Tourism, Sports and Home Departments in opening a new chapter in Odisha’s tourism landscape and called upon all departments to work collectively to make Odisha a world-class tourism destination.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg, who was also present during the event, underscored that the State Government is prioritising tourism development with the vision of achieving Utkarsh Odisha by 2036 and Viksit Bharat by 2047.

She stressed that all departments should explore ways to contribute to tourism growth alongside their core responsibilities and emphasised the importance of collective efforts. She expressed hope that adventure tourism would boost local economies and create large-scale employment opportunities and called upon stakeholders to adopt the mantra “Think India, Think Odisha.”

The state government further informed that the Go-Adventure portal will simplify registration, verification and licensing procedures for adventure tourism projects. The MoU with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation is expected to strengthen safety audits and training programmes for land-based adventure activities such as trekking and rock climbing.

The partnership with the Aero Club of India will regulate aerial adventure sports like paragliding and paramotoring in line with national aviation safety norms.

In a move to improve the ease of doing business, the government issued ‘Licence to Operate’ (LTO) and ‘Recognition to Set Up’ (RTS) certificates to domestic operators and formally handed over licences to several adventure tourism operators during the programme.

–IANS

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