Tourism department gears up to project Kolkata as MICE hotspot

Kolkata: The state Tourism department will leave no stones unturned to project Kolkata as a destination for MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference, and Events) tourism, with the 11th edition of the flagship event Conventions India Conclave (CIC) to be held at the Biswa Bangla Tourism Centre at New Town from August 29 to 31.

The CIC is hosted by the India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), a body sponsored by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

"We need to provide a boost to the tremendous MICE tourism potential in the city. There will be participation from various states and industry organisations from around the world. We need to take these opinion makers to explore the various places in Bengal, so that they can witness the unique tourism opportunities in the state. We will urge the organisers to urge them to visit various tourist spots in the state and we will be making the best of arrangements for them," said Atri Bhattacharya, principal secretary of the state Tourism department.

It may be mentioned that this is the first time when Bengal will be hosting the CIC, whose objective is to showcase Kolkata as an upcoming MICE destination. The CIC has been held at various other venues like Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad, but never in Bengal.

"With the state-of-the-art Biswa Bangla Convention Centre (BBCC) in New Town and around 1,500 hotel rooms of five star category in close proximity to the centre, there is no reason why Kolkata cannot emerge as a favourite MICE destination," said Debashis Sen, chairman of Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), which has constructed the BBCC.

Participation of around 250 delegates from a number of countries in the world will include domestic and international buyers and exhibitors.