20/04/2018
West Bengal Tourism mulling to frame film tourism policy
The Tourism Department of West Bengal is thinking of framing a film tourism policy which would promote West Bengal as a film tourism destination. “We are thinking of having a single window clearance for films so that we can invite filmmakers to shoot their films in the state,” said Swarupa Barua, Assistant Director, West Bengal Tourism.
Simultaneously, the tourism department is mulling to frame a home stay policy to boost tourism and promote the state as a hub of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) in the state.
“In West Bengal homestays are coming up in a big way, which is why the government is also thinking on framing a homestay policy. It is in the pipeline. Tour operators are registered with the government. After the policy is framed, we can have same system for homestay providers also. Information related to homestays will be available on the website which will be helpful for the tourists,” she added.
Additionally, efforts are on to promote Bengal as a MICE tourism hub. Bengal comprises 42 tourist lodges across the state managed by West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC). To attract MICE business, the upgradation of these properties is underway.
She said that the effort of the government was to have overall growth of the tourism sector as it had potential of creating employment opportunities like other industries. Stating that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was keen on promoting new destinations in the state, she said efforts were being made to promote all the destinations in the state equally.
“West Bengal is a state with bounty of natural beauty. We have Himalayas, we have Bay of Bengal, other than Sundarban, which is world heritage site, we have forest region in Dooars also. We want to promote all the destinations equally. It’s not that only we are promoting Darjeeling or Sundarban. We have cultural heritage belt that is Malda, Murshidabad, Bishnupur, Shantiniketan. Our Chief Minister is interested in promoting new destinations. People know about Darjeeling and Sundarban but we want them to know entire West Bengal. We are not only promoting Bengal’s culture and heritage but also cuisine of the state. Promotions are being done mostly by participating in exhibitions and we are hitting now tier-II and III cities also so that we can reach out to more and more people,” she highlighted.
