Kolkata, Oct 22 — The West Bengal government has taken initiatives to revamp tourism in the hilly areas, including Darjeeling, to enrich the tourist experience, said a government official on Thursday.
The target is to radically transform the tourism sector and completely digitise the entire system within the next six to seven months. In addition to the unique natural beauty of the hills, plans have been made to strengthen tourism infrastructure, reduce traffic congestion, manage waste and enhance the image of Darjeeling at the international level by organising cultural events, said the official.
Initiatives are underway to develop areas like Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Mirik, Dudiya, Mongpu and Kurseong through area-based planning. In addition to the traditional 'Tea Festival', 'Vintage Car Rally', 'Walkathon', 'River Rafting' and paragliding, the Mahakal Temple, Sevak's Kali Mandir, the old bungalow of Kalijhora and the Mongpu Bungalow, which is associated with the memory of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, have been given a plan to preserve the heritage and develop the infrastructure.
A special emphasis is also being given to the ropeway project to control the long-standing problem of traffic congestion in the hills. As part of this, a review has been started for the construction of five new ropeways in the initial stage.
A major change is coming in the homestay policy to ensure the safety of tourists and transparency of the system. The administration has learnt that many homestays are still unregistered, and in many cases, tourists are being allowed to stay without identity cards, which the district administration considers a cause for concern.
In this situation, Darjeeling and Kalimpong police have been instructed to prepare a detailed list of illegal and legal homestays. From now on, all the processes of homestay registration, renewal and government applications are being brought online, eliminating the complexity of offline and paper-based processes.
A new homestay policy and tourism industry policy approved by the state cabinet in this regard will be made public very soon.
In this regard, state Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh said, "Digital media is being used as a main tool to increase the comfort of tourists and highlight unknown tourist destinations. The 'Digital Tourism App' developed by the Darjeeling district administration in just three days is the first step in this. Through this app, tourists will get Darjeeling's heritage sites, unknown tourist destinations and useful information with just one click."
The minister clarified, "Although Darjeeling comes to mind when we talk about tourism in North Bengal, it is very important to promote offbeat places spread outside it. This successful digital model of Darjeeling district will soon be implemented in every district of the state."
According to sources in the tourism department, a plan has been made to boost the economy of the hills by using the budget allocation of Rs 57 crore from the central government and the department's own land and property. The main website of the tourism department is also being redesigned to make information easily accessible.
If the initiative is implemented, it will increase employment in the hills, as well as revenue collection, and North Bengal's tourism will reach a new height on the world map.