Kolkata, Jan 11 (UNI) With an intention to attract more foreign tourists to Bengal, the ninth edition of 'Destination East' will be held from January 12 to 19 at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre.
At the same time, to mark its position among the top in MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) tourism, the State Tourism Department is organising the summit in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Kolkata has enormous potential to emerge as a MICE destination. At present there are 3,860 hotel rooms in the city with all modern facilities; another 1,700 rooms will be coming up in the next five years. Then, there is the state-of-the-art convention centre in the form of Biswa Bangla Convention Centre at New Town.
Another premier convention destination is being developed at Milan Mela, opposite Science City.
This year’s Destination East will have 110 international buyers from 42 countries, with 65 per cent of the representatives from North American and European countries. Last year, there was representation from 30 countries.
According to senior officials of the Tourism Department, the government is taking all possible measures to promote the State as an all-season destination, including focusing on the development of heritage tourism and homestays.
The department is developing an app where the best among the homestays will find a place, for determining which they will soon be graded. Before the grading starts, the State Government, in coordination with the CII Tourism sub-committee, will be giving training to homestay owners to make them familiar with the nitty-gritty that tourists seek during their stay, so that they take measures accordingly.
Based on the suggestions of the international tour operators at the summit, the necessary steps will be taken for giving tourism a further boost, said a senior official of the department.

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