Status: Not ApprovedHEAD: 24_Bhu_DS_ADVENTUREByline: Diana SahuOdisha launches ‘Go Adventure’ portal, signs MoUs with IMF and ACITimes News NetworkBhubaneswar: Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Tuesday launched the ‘Go Adventure’ portal and signed MoUs with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) and the Aero Club of India (ACI), in a move towards positioning Odisha as a premier adventure tourism hub in Eastern India.The ‘Go Adventure’ portal will simplify registration, verification and licensing procedures for adventure tourism projects.Stating that safety is the cornerstone of the State’s adventure tourism expansion, she said that, through international partnerships and a new focus on spiritual and experience-based travel, the govt plans to modernise the sector and attract fresh investment from young entrepreneurs.Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the state govt 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. Garg hoped that adventure tourism would boost local economies and create large-scale employment opportunities.While 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.This apart, ‘licence to operate’ (LTO) and ‘recognition to set up’ (RTS) certificates were issued to domestic operators, and several adventure tourism operators were formally handed licences during the programme on the day.Former Union minister and President of the Aero Club of India Rajiv Pratap Rudy attended the event, while Pawan Gupta from the National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS), Goa, joined virtually. MSID:: 128754256 413 |