State Tourism dept inks MoUs worth `5,600 cr

Kolkata: The state Tourism department has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) to the tune of Rs 5,600 crore at the recent edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS). State Tourism minister Indranil Sen said at the state Assembly on Monday that his department hopes that the MoUs will be implemented in the next one year.

The arrival of foreign tourists in Bengal in the year 2023 has been 27.07 lakh up from 10.4 lakh tourists in the year 2022. The minister is hopeful that with the tourist flow in the year 2024, this figure will go up further.

“50 per cent of the foreign tourists and those from other states choose South Bengal for visit and Purulia is one of the hotspots,” said Sen. The minister, during the question answer session in the state Assembly, said that the Tourism department has received 70 projects from different districts in the state that includes 38 from South Bengal and 32 in North Bengal.

The total cost of these proposals involves Rs 71 crore which is under consideration by the department. “We have received two project proposals from Purulia. The Murugama Tourism Property at Ayodhya Hills in Purulia has already been inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and has 100 per cent occupancy. The Khairabera Park in Purulia is being expanded,” the minister added.