On Ganga in style: Tourism dept launches luxury houseboat for corporate events

Kolkata: The state Tourism department has rolled out its new luxury houseboat for hosting corporate events, while cruising along river Ganga.

The houseboat, with a capacity of 30 persons, facilities for a conference hall and a dining space is aimed at providing corporates a unique experience.

"We are laying special emphasis on river cruising in an effort to boost the waterway sector which has been neglected for several years. The introduction of the houseboat is an important step in this direction," said a senior official of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (WBTDCL), which is overseeing the operation of the houseboat.

The official added that the booking tariff is Rs 5,000

per hour, with the minimum chartering duration being 3 hours. WBTDCL will allow a discount of 15 percent except on weekends and national holidays.

At present, the booking facilities are available from the booking office located at Tourism Centre in Dalhousie area, but the WBTDCL will soon introduce online booking facilities.

"Apart from business meetings, the houseboat is also ideal for hosting birthday parties or similar social functions that do not involve a very large gathering of people," the official added.

WBTDCL will soon go for a massive publicity campaign about the houseboat as well as their conventional cruise Sumangal, which has a capacity of 80 persons.

The tariff for Sumangal is the same as that of the houseboat and it should be booked for a minimum of three hours. However there is kitchen facility available in it and the charge for the same is Rs 1,000. The reporting place for availing the facilities of both the cruises is Babughat jetty.

Sumangal, which has been in action for many years, has been renovated recently by WBTDCL. The details for booking have been uploaded in the website of WBTDCL.