West Bengal to launch new tourism policy

Aiming to boost the growth of tourism sector, the West Bengal government is expected to roll out its new tourism policy in January next year, a member of a government-appointed panel on tourism said Thursday.

"We have submitted the recommendations to the government. It is likely that the new policy will be in place by early 2015 as the chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) is keen to attract investment in the tourism sector," Vijay Dewan, a member of the steering committee, said on the margins of a CII event here.

The Trinamool Congress government set up the committee in September to drive sectoral growth in the state. The committee is chaired by tourism secretary A.R. Bardhan and co-chaired by industrialist Hard Neotia.

The state is keen on developing the Sunderbans and Gangasagar circuit and has come up with recommendations to set up hotels, resorts and infrastructure in those areas.

"We have proposed a four-lane highway connecting Sunderbans with Kolkata where the speed limit can be 80 kmph and look to have four to five resorts of five acres each in the Sunderbans," said Dewan, who is also managing director of Park Hotels.

Further, helicopter connectivity and a waterway have been proposed for the mangrove tourist destination and private investment proposed for the area.

"A public-private partnership (PPP) model has been proposed to develop the area (Sunderbans)", he added.

With Kolkata, Sunderbans, Dooars, Darjeeling and Gangasagar on the radar, Dewan said plans were afoot to develop a Buddhist circuit in the state while medical tourism can be considered as an opportunity.

"We have proposed to make Kolkata a meeting, incentive, conference and exhibitions (MICE) destination and will be coming up with a Convention Centre of one lakh square feet. We will also promote the festivals and various events happening throughout the year," Dewan said.

The committee has suggested requirement of 4,000 rooms in the branded category to be constructed in the next three years to make Kolkata a MICE destination implying upcoming hotel projects in the state. The city presently has provision for 2,000 rooms.

Apart from the recent focus on the mangrove delta, the committee has recommended various incentives and schemes for the Dooars and Darjeeling region.

A new rope-way project and luxury-tax-free home-stays in the tea gardens have been proposed.

A helicopter service connecting Darjeeling is under consideration. Also, the government is likely to eye a virgin hill in Darjeeling to convert it into a tourist destination.

Dewan said there has been recommendation to reduce the aviation turbine fuel tax from the present 25 percent to 16 percent to bring in more foreign tourists to the state.

When asked about investment and sourcing of funds, Dewan said: "The government will bring in support."