KOLKATA: The state Tourism department is trying to come up with four to five attractive tour packages of 10 to 15 days during major events like the Gangasagar Mela or the Durga Puja, mainly to attract more international tourists.
"The government and the private sector can coordinate. There are good properties with the best facilities both in the government as well as the private sector. So, we can pinpoint four to five places where package trips can be arranged for 10-15 days with great facilities so that tourists can explore the best of Bengal," in-charge of state Tourism department Babul Supriyo said addressing an interactive session on 'Development of Tourism in Bengal' organised by the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI). The minister said that the six sectoral sub-committees set up by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently to boost tourism in the state can play a key role in the formulation of such attractive packages. The sectoral sub-committees are for rural & tea tourism, heritage & cultural tourism, eco-tourism, river tourism, adventure tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism.A meeting of the sectoral sub-committees has been scheduled at the end of September where such packages are likely to be put up.
Sudesh Poddar, president of HRAEI urged for granting of industry status to the hotel industry and a single-window system for licenses stating that presently 46 licenses are required and 16 more operational licenses to start a hotel.
Saumitra Mohan, secretary of the Tourism department said that the state government will soon come out with a system for easing out the grant of licenses for setting up hotels. He added that the government has also started training guides through the Technical Education department particularly for making tourists' visits in historical
more interesting.