UN team to visit Kolkata to study heritage sites

"A team of United Nation's World Tourism Organisation is coming to Kolkata on February 6 to study the sites proposed by us (for restoration)," West Bengal Tourism Department Principal Secretary Vikram Sen told reporters on the sidelines of Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry event here today.

Restoration has been suggested in sites at Murshidabad, Jhargram and Mahishadal and attempts were also being made to attract investors in restoring heritage sites in former French and Dutch colonies like Channdanagore, Chinsurah and Serampore.

West Bengal has a huge potential for heritage and cultural tourism and that has to be tapped, Sen said, adding that the government has recently discovered several sites like the archaeological ones at Govardhanpur, Buddhist monastery in West Midnapore district and a huge dargah in Malda.

Sen urged industry bodies to come up with proposals to develop these sites as tourism centres.

The state government has also requested Neemrana Group, which specialises in restoring and converting heritage buildings into hotels, to consider some of these sites for development, he said.

"The Neemrana Group is restoring a Dutch building in Chinsurah to turn it to a hotel. We are providing them administrative support. We have also asked them to also consider sites identified by us," Sen said.

Last year around 2.35 lakh foreign and 85 lakh domestic tourists visited West Bengal, he said.