State mulls to launch 'integrated city pass' for visit to 40 tourist spots in & around Kolkata

KOLKATA: The state Tourism department is intending to introduce an 'integrated city pass' for hassle-free visit to different tourist places in and around the municipal limits of Kolkata.

The department has identified 40 such tourist destinations, where visitors can have easy access through the integrated pass without having to spend time in queues for purchasing tickets.

A senior official of the Tourism department said that Kolkata City Pass will be an integrated and limited validity pass to facilitate easy and convenient access to these 40 tourist attractions identified by the department. "The pass will be made available through a specially-designed mobile application. The ticketing system, wherever applicable in case of these tourist destinations, will be integrated in the App developed by our department and a specific time slot for visiting the tourist place of choice will be allotted to the visitors in advance. This will ensure that he/she do not have to stand in queue for purchasing entry tickets to a place of attraction," the official added. Secretary of the Tourism department Saumitra Mohan has written to the authorities of all these 40 tourist places to confirm their participation in the initiative. The list includes Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial, Science City, Nicco Park, Eco Park, Birla Industrial and Technological Museum , Alipore Zoological Gardens, Mother's Wax Museum, etc. The department has sought entry fee details, if any, both for domestic and foreign tourists, to find out whether any discount can be offered for those availing the pass and whether they agree to an IT-mediated automatic settlement mechanism which would ensure periodic payment depending on the footfall and whether a nodal person from the institution could be assigned the responsibility for handling visitors availing the QR code enabled Pass. "Our department is ready to bear the entire cost for preparation of the customised software," the official said.

The department has requested the institutions to inform about their opinion in this regard within a week.