The Odisha government intends to increase tourism with the introduction of direct flights from Bhubaneswar to Dubai, Bangkok, and Singapore – under 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 of the government of Odisha includes 660 crore for the tourist industry.

During the Odisha Tourism Roadshow here, Jadhav stated, “We expect a surge in international tourists taking onward flights to Odisha with the launch of direct flights with these three cities.”

Source-hindustan times
Link:https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/travel/odisha-tourism-direct-flight-bhubaneswar-to-dubai-bangkok-and-singapore-101686053429373.html