City of Joy Requires Rebranding to Hike Tourist Footfall: Shankar Ghosh

"The sacred river, purified by the touch of all —
Today, at the shore of India's great ocean of humanity” – Rabindranath Tagore.

Minister of Tourism Shankar Ghosh on Wednesday sought to revive the call for a ‘Return to Bengal’, purified as if by the touch of every tourist, domestic or overseas, at the vast human gathering that is West Bengal.

If people are aware of variegated tourism festivals across the globe, Bengal ought to find its legitimate place in the newest map of the global tourism circuit by actively pursuing rebranding of the City of Joy, Ghosh told newsmen after a prolonged tete-a-tete with the concerned stakeholders.

“Bengal has to be that melting pot where hundreds and thousands of tourists from home and abroad will converge to explore the abundant beauty of nature and unexplored niches,” Ghosh said.

And what can’t be a more fitting occasion to project a ‘Rejuvenated Bengal’ than Durga Puja!

“A new road map for an exciting and hitherto-unexplored aspect of Durga Puja that will be up for display with full glamour and a surprising twist this year, has currently been on a nascent stage,” he pointed out, “the details of which will be revealed at an opportune moment.”

The Bengali diaspora and overseas puja organisers who will be involved in this unique initiative to promote the four-day Durga Festival, will work as Bengal’s brand ambassadors.

“Plus, the state authorities would like to leverage the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage tag which has already been awarded to Kolkata’s Durga Puja to enable us to position the festival alongside the major global festive events,” stressed the tourism minister.

Referring to prime minister Narendra Modi who had called for shedding light on nooks and corners where light hasn’t been shed, Ghosh pointed out that stress has been accorded to developing unexplored regions, but ‘with limited access’ so that the pristine beauty of the place is not harmed.

The tourism department which is currently in talks with the stakeholders to wean the tourists into this gateway to Northeastern states, has drawn up a Five Point Action Plan to raise the present standard of tourism to match the global scale.

Powered by a twin motto of ‘vision’ and ‘attendant action’, the department has hammered out details of the Action Plan which include ‘A Revised Branding of Bengal’, ‘Tourism for All’ and ‘Partnership for Progress’ among others.

At present, West Bengal does not have any direct flights between Kolkata and various destinations in Europe or the US. However, the state drew 31 lakh international visitors in 2024, a 14.8% rise over 27 lakh arrivals in 2023. The rise coincides with a decline in arrivals from Bangladesh, a Union Tourism ministry data released last year said.

Bengal, according to that document, emerged as the second most favourite destination after Maharastra in 2024.

Elaborating on the slew of measures being considered by the state government to hasten a spike in the tourist footfall, the tourism minister stated that the stakeholders have been advised to upload their details in the department’s data bank within 30th June following which they would be asked to provide a presentation so that they themselves could play the role of major catalyst for growth of tourism.

A review of the progress of the same would be undertaken over a short term (three month) and long term (one year and three year) period.

Frugal Forest Concept

To a question, Ghosh conceded that Bengal requires a major tourism infrastructure upgrade without which the task of rebranding Bengal showcasing the Eastern Himalayas and the unique ecosystem of the Sundarbans Islands wouldn’t be possible.

Referring to ‘Frugal Forest’ ecosystems like Africa's ancient Miombo woodlands or Boreal forests that survive and thrive on very few soil nutrients, Ghosh who himself hails from picturesque North Bengal, expressed his desire to develop exclusive regions where the ecosystems maintain peak productivity in harsh, resource-straitened environments, in a non-wasteful way that nature operates.

“Well, I understand it’s time consuming and a little challenging job; nevertheless, there’s no harm in initiating a maiden move to develop the concept,” Ghosh said adding that high-end tea tourism is one such niche where this could be implemented.