According to a UNI report, the Orissa government is looking at Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in the hospitality sector by opening hotels and restaurants in the state, in order to woo more Chinese tourists to the state. Debi Prasad Mishra, Tourism Minister, Orissa, who participated at the PATA Convention held at Hanzhou in China from September 23 to 25, 2009 informed that the Chinese entrepreneurs would be encouraged to open restaurants and hotels close to Buddhist sites and tribal belts, in a bid to promote Ecotourism, Tribal Tourism and heritage among Chinese tourists.
Mishra said the Buddhist link between Orissa and China dates back to the seventh century and the state had good tourism potential for Chinese visitors. He added that three years back 500 Chinese had visited the state and now the number had increased to 1,500, a majority of them being business travellers. Mishra said that the Chinese showed interest to visit Orissa after they were informed about the Buddhist heritage link between Orissa and China right from the visit of traveller-cum-historian Heuen Tsang in 638 AD. |