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Bengal's new tourism policy by March-end
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SPECIALCORRESPONDENT on 02 March, 2008 01:24:00
 
The state government is all set to come up with a new tourism policy by
March-end in its bid to attract more investment in this sector.
The state tourism department has appointed Ernst & Young as a consultant for
preparing a road-map to boost tourism.
The new tourism policy is being drafted on the basis of Ernst & Young’s
report.
Confirming the development, state tourism secretary Bijoy Chatterjee said, "We
will unveil our new tourism policy by the end of this fiscal. The policy will
help West Bengal to position itself as a tourist destination the way Rajasthan,
Kerala and Goa have done."
The new policy will include some concrete proposals to attract more private
investments in the tourism sector. In addition to this, there would be proposals
to go in for the public-private-partnership (P-P-P) model, sources said.
When asked about the content of the policy, Mr Chatterjee said, "I can only say
that the policy is being framed in such a way that it will help in promoting
state tourism in a big way."
The state tourism department has earmarked Rs 2.8 crores for publicity
expenditure in the current fiscal. Sources said that the publicity budget will
be increased further in the next fiscal to propel West Bengal into the big
league as far as tourist destinations are concerned.
In 2006, West Bengal attracted 17.37 million tourists from other parts of the
country and one million foreign tourists. The state government has also taken
steps to restructure its tourism department which will involve restructuring its
website to offer online booking and build and offer holiday packages on themes
like handicrafts and fairs, heritage, environment, tea gardens, villages and
medical retreats.