CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

West Bengal as a state cannot afford to miss the opportunities for economic

development, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings from tourism.

Management practices in the W. Bengal tourism sector should strive to achieve a

better growth of tourism though infrastructure development, development of new

products, improvement and proper mix of new products and innovative strategies for

promotion and marketing of the rich cultural heritage of West Bengal.

Management of right practices by all the agencies concerned in the tourism industry

can help to generate new strategies for achieve diversification of various tourism

products, packages and circuits developed on the basis of core competence, strength

of individual districts and tourism products instead of going for common products and

packages.

The process of globalization has resulted in considera~le stresses and tensions due to

competitive life styles, breakneck speed of change and the ever-growing need to

excel. There is a tremendous demand of tourist in the world over to go to exotic and

unexplored places just to 'relax' and run away from their 'monotonous', 'mechanical

and routine life styles'. The varieties of West Bengal tourism products have always

evoked great interest in people form all over the world. Particularly Kolkata, is and

has always been, a store house of intellectual, cultural, wisdom city. Our diversity,

cultural richness, and multifarious ways of living provide in the distinction of being in

a position to offer many unique products to the tourist community.

Tourism management should be inbuilt with new cultural tourism products of W.

Bengal, packages and circuits based on our rich culture heritage focusing on people

and life styles; ethnic diversity and languages, values and beliefs, myths and legends,

'rites and rituals, customs and traditions, fairs and festivals, colors and costumers,

monuments and palaces, sculpture and architecture, wild life sanctuaries and beaches,

artifacts and handicrafts, folklore and music, poetry, drama and dance. These products

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based on cultural heritage can be developed into attractions for tourism to accentuate

the relevance of cultural heritage is everyday life interpreted in such a way as to make

them living vibrant and entertaining for the tourists.

Modern management practices would be required to market these cultural

tourism products in the following form

• Multimedia and audio-visual presentations

• Seminars and lectures

• Regular musical and poetry recitals

• Reconstruction of the past with light and sound shows

• Guided tours in heritage sites

• Exhibitions

• Live performances (performing arts)

These would require in creating a world class infrastructure and manpower to provide

a tourist with all the information and amenities at per with the best in the world

together with holistic experience and satisfaction if setting a good value for money

and time spent by tourist.

Tourism products and management practices must ensure to assimilate and support

local needs and aspirations by promoting local cuisine, handicrafts, folk lore, cultural

and recreational activities, local fairs and festivals and heritage walks. The creation

and development of such cultural tourism enterprises would be best managed, if

operated and owned by local people. Todays traveler are better educated, culturally

more aware, curious, analytical and sensitive. They look for alternative to large mass

tourism markets. They went to stay in small locally owned accommodation and

become part of the local communities to comprehend local values and ways of life

instead of large modem hotels equipped with international facilities.

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In order to this tremendous potential the following priorities including suggestion can

dramatically alter the face ofW. Bengal tourism:

Cultural tourism should be high listed as the bedrock of tourism development in W.

Bengal with a systematic campaign to project our civilization, cultural values and

ethics. All the agencies need to be sensitized towards important aspect of cultural

tourism management.

Our priority should be to synthesize the elements of culture and civic governance

without taking cultural tourism as mere tourism. It should be end at eliminating

poverty, creating more employment opportunities, empowering women and other

weaker sections of the society crating new skills, preserving cultural heritages and

protecting the environments.

Formulation of a need-based tourism policy is an urgent requirement for the

promotion of tourism in W.B. Both the government and private agencies should give

serious thought in this matter. These agencies should join hands in the process of

tourism planning and policy-making for the state. A task committee should be created

with the active cooperation of both government and non-government tourism

promotional agencies of the state. They should stress on four key areas: a) revenue

generation by locally initiated fund raising, b) development of tourist products by

evaluating all possible tourist resources, themes and preparing calendar of local

events, c) promotion of education and research in tourism by giving training to local

youths and service staff and d) community awareness programmes for tourism

development through festivals, socio-cultural events and information centers.

Experts in the concerned fields rather than government official should man the two

premier tourism promotional agencies of the state-Department of Tourism and West

Bengal Tourism. Apart from it, better functioning of the affairs of tourism requires an

integrated organizational structure.

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To handle the affairs of tourism the existing organizational structure of the

Department of Tourism Govt. of W.B. need immediate reorientation. Like an idea]

tourism organization they should have four structural components viz. (a) planning

and development-entrusted with formulating policy and planning coordination of

development implementation and control on facility and service standard b) statistics

and research-entrusted with data collection, computing and reporting; conducting

studies and operating the tourism information system, c) marketing service-entrusted

with market planning and development; operation of regional and local tourism office

and information centres; overseas marketing through government of India's overseas

office and developing tie-ups with other possible channels and d) education and

training-entrusted with manpower planning and development; operation of training

programme; raising the standard of training; encouraging institutions engaged in

generating tourism manpower and individual or group activities associated with

tourism research and promotion.

State government should formulate a comprehensive tourism act to direct and regulate

the activities of government and non-government agencies for the cause of tourism, so

that economic and social interest of the state is duly served.

All the tourist information centers should be equipped with adequate facilities and

should be supported by service of trained staff. They should offer information round

the dock and on spot package selling facilities.

Intensive campaign should be carried out by government and private agencies through

print and electronic media at both national and international levels to project the

positive image of the state. Websites should be opened to provide up-to-date and

location specific tourism information through World Wide Web. Assistance of NRis

of this region may be taken for campaigning tourism products in overseas market.

Private tourism agencies should try to develop themselves as "Specialist" rather than

'generalist' to meet the interest of tourists. They should incorporate expertise of

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specialist to enhance their operational sophistication in concerned special areas. Such

specialization can reduce operational conflicts among them and may provide

opportunity to operate in cooperative basis to achieve a common goal, that is,

development of tourism in W.B. while permiting and recognizing such agencies,

government should ensure that they must recruit at least 50% of their manpower

trained in tourism management. So the tour operators and travel agencies can

effectively handle the affair of their trade. It will not only help development of a

congenial environment for selling tourism products of the region, but also open a job

market for the educated unemployed youths having professional training in the field

of tourism. Such strategies should also be made mandatory for the operators too, who

have already got government recognition.

State government should introduce a policy to provide initially for some time some

concession in respect of travel and lodging facilities to its employees in order to boost

up tourism and create publicity of tourist attractions within the state.

Academic institutions should try to carry out annual excursion and tour programme

of their students within the state. This will help in providing an initial boost to tourism

development on the one hand and help the students to know about their own state on

the other. At the school level, syllabus should provide some space to highlight the

necessity of travel and tourism and the place of tourist attraction in the state.

Polarization of tourism activities in some pockets of the state hampers overall

development of tourism. Therefore, steps should be taken by the concerned agencies

to redirect the existing tourist flow to the newly developed areas so that benefit of

tourism spreads throughout the length and breadth of the state in due course.

As natural and wildlife attractions are the mainstay of tourism industry in W.B. hence

forest policy of the state should have provision for promotion and management of

national parks and sanctuaries by using tourism as a supporting means in the

concerned areas with active participation of local community.

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The available accommodation facilities are concentrated mainly in the urban areas,

but not at the place of tourist attraction. Hence such accommodations are in 'off-site'

local areas can be used by tourist to have a look on the potential tourist resources of

the countryside. So, improvement of the urban environment is an urgent need, which

can be done by curbing noise and air pollution, introducing better garbage

management technique and establishing better public services, both for locals and

tourists.

Considering the state's rich natural environment, ecotourism (tourism based on the

idea of sustainability) practice should be initiated. As ecotourism requires less

economic investment, it may prove to be quite suitable in the context of the present

economic position of the state. Moreover, such a practice has social, economic and

environmental gain both for the local people and the operators.

Department of Tourism alone cannot promote tourism activities in the state as tourist

as tourist resources of the state are under various departments, viz. archaeology,

forest, culture, sports, etc. Hence, interdepartmental co-operation is a must for tourism

development in the state.

State government should entrust department of tourism of another apex body to

monitor the facilities and service quality of non-classified general hotels, It can help

in maintaining a required standard of facilities and service of such hotels in the state.

Incentive should be given to those hotel owners interested in promoting tourism at

local level. It should be made mandatory to have at least 30% of their service staff

trained in hospitality management for opening new stay facility. Similar conditions

may gradually be applied to the stay facilities to give a professional touch to the

accommodation sector of the state.

All the tourist centers of the state tourism department should be entrusted to prepare

and execute micro-level tourism plans at grass-root level. They can act as a catalyst

between the tourism department and the local tour promoters and can perform their

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role as a promoting unit for developing small scale and local level tourism ventures at

village or panchayat level.

The Department of Tourism and West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation

(WBTDC) Should immediately have a research and development wing to carry out

periodic assessment of tourism infrastructures, their functioning and changing nature

of tourism' demand for promoting demand as well as supply oriented tourism

development in the state. In that context, the present statistical cell of tourism

department can be constituted to serve the purpose. The department should also adopt

suitable techniques to collect arrival and other relevant data of the tourist visiting the

state, so that changing nature of demand can be ascertained. A new procedure of

'tourist card' may be introduced to carry out the process in a more professional way.

Provisions should be made in this process to issue such cards to tourists a different

entry points of the state as well as at the destinations at a nominal fee for a fixed

period say of 20 days. Within this period, the tourist needs to collect such cards only

for one time from a convenient point, at destinations or entry points. Holders of such

cards may be offered concessions in purchasing tourist packages, special facilities in

different booking counters, shops, etc. for the period, which will add a value to such

ventures. While recording names of tourists in different tourist accommodations and

destinations of the state, the card will help the hotel owners or other tourism

facilitators to cross-examine the arrival data for different tourist sites,

accommodations and in accumulating data for the state as a whole. Thus an actual

picture of the universe of the tourist will come up. This is very essential because, it

will help tourism managers to ascertain the quantum of requisites for different tourist

spots as well as for the state as a whole in fulfilling the demand of tourists and also to

understand the trend.

Facility of long and short-term training programme should be provided by the

Department of Tourism to the staff of tourist lodges, hotels, travel agencies, etc.

Similarly, special programmes should be arranged by the department to provide

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training of tourists guide to local unemployed youths in different parts of the state.

The department should also try to exploit the know-how of local adventure groups,

cultural groups, group of artists, etc. working in their respective fields to promote

tourism in the state. Traditional skills like practice of trekking among the tribal people

of the hilly areas can be easily incorporated in tourism activities like trekking, hiking,

jungle exploration, etc. in the hilly districts of the state. The educated youths with

such inherent traditional skills may prove to be ideal guides and promoters adventure

activities in the hill districts of the state.

The state government should open four information complexes each at different state

at different comer of the state to motivate both the domestic and foreign tourists to

visit Bengal. The centers should be equipped with up to date information and a spot

package selling facilities.

The existing information centers at Delhi and Kolkata should be upgraded. Special

attention should be given to Delhi information centre, as Delhi is the main gateway of

foreign tourist to the country. These centres can act as image builders for the state and

its different tourist destinations.

Private tourism agencies should concentrate more on tourism promotion within the

state instead of encouraging local people for overseas tour, so that leakage of foreign

exchange can be minimized and a travel oriented atmosphere can be created in the

state.

Tourism promotional activities of the state should be parallels supported by

promotional venture of potential tourism products like indigenous craft, folk art,

performing art, music oral literature sports and other cultural components. Central and

state government along with non-government agencies can play important role in this

regard.

Instruction of vehicles into the national parks and sanctuaries should be stopped as a

soon as possible. Elephant safari, hot air balloon safari and trekking venture with the

assistance of forest department should be introduced to exploit tourist potentiality of

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such areas. Adoption of such strategy in tourism promotion can go a long way in

attaining social, economic and environmental goals with the active participation of

local people. The presence of nature tourists in such sites will certainly help 1

controlling poaching and destruction of forest resources, which are otherwise isolated

from human habitation.

Government should be flexible enough to encourage private entrepreneurs. In this

context, provision should be made to introduce single window clearness of all the

necessary formalities. Stress should be given to 'local-level' and 'small-scale' tourism

venture so that people can directly get the benefit to tourism venture of the concerned

areas and resources can be managed in a batter way.

All the eastern states should join hands for an integrated tourism development in the

region. With the assistance of the central government a joint information and service

centre for tourism should be set up in Kolkata to facilitate tourists with information

regarding destinations, on the spot package buying, procurement of travel permits etc.

Tour packages should be creative enough to attract tourist and to get long-term

benefit to the local areas. An outline of such in ideal project is given below as an

exampl,e;

Campaigning 'Grow Green' is a project having combination of afforestation and

tourism activity. Here apart from general tour programme, tourist will be asked to

plant a tree in a pre-allocated area in money of his/her visit to the state. Periodic

information regarding the condition of his or her tree can be provided to them. This

will give the tour organizer and intimate channel to communicate the tourists and

many others through him or her, to attract and associate him or her as well with the

new tourism ventures of the state. Such venture will certainly add values to local

afforestation scheme and environmental awareness programme.

While campaigning for a tourist product, the aim should be to highlight the significant

of such product along with its precise location and situation. As for example, while

campaigning for a monument, apart from stating its history and local significance,

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attempts should be made to project its uniqueness in terms of architecture, beauty,

sculpture, terracotta that make it distinct from other monuments of the world.

Both the government and private tourism agencies should try to promote tourist

transport facilities by providing quality coaches for the tourists. Small size of tourist

group indicates the requirement of mini-coach and car for their mobility. Special

attention should be paid for family needs as majority of the tourists come with their

families.

Promotion and renovation of historic monuments and ruin sites are other areas of

importance. However renovation of such monuments and ruin sites should be done to

preserve their antique characteristics. All such sites should have provision to display

their history and significance to facilitate tourists as well as the local people to

rediscover past.

Promotion of adventure tourism reqmres a group of trained manpower. Central

government may be urged upon by the eastern and as well as north eastern states to

open an institute to train the youths interested in this field. Local adventure groups

and clubs can also be associated to such ventures. Siliguri will be the ideal location

for such as institute to serve the need of the entire north-eastern region.

Chartered air service should be introduced to facilitate foreign and affluent domestic

tourist for quick mobility especially in the tourist season. The existing unused airstrips

including those of the tea gardens can also be effectively used in this regard. The

interest of greater air connectivity of this region will be served if operational hub of

such ventures functions from Kolkata, the gateway of the east. However, to cater to

the need of tourist, air taxi service may be introduced, as the tourist to the region

come in small groups. Smaller aircraft can provide greater flexibility and can make

such operation economically viable.

Existing train service to the state should be improved to facilitate comfortable tourist

mobility. Specially designed tourist bogies can be introduced in both the incoming

and outgoing long distance trains to and from the state to facilitate comfortable

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movement of tourists. Toy trains of Darjeeling can be promoted to attract the

international tourist. It can certainly help in development of nature, adventure and

cultural tourism in the hill districts of the state.

Plying of night-service passenger buses should be checked for a health growth of

accommodation in the different districts towns of Bengal, which in turn will extend

lodging facility for tourists in near future.

State government should immediately declare the river Ganga as a tourist resource of

the state. With the financial assistance from central government or private

entrepreneurs, schemes should be undertaken to introduce cruise vessel or hoover

craft for providing river cruising facility to tourists along the Ganga by connecting

destination like Baracpur, Balur, Chandannag, Bandel, Kanla, Katoa, Baharampore,

Murshidabad specially in tourist season (September to March)

Tourist activity of the state is essentially seasonal in nature. Hence to meet the

seasonal demand of accommodation, alternative accommodations like paying-guest

system, tree-house and non-fixed roof accommodations like tent and camping facility

should be made available at the initiative of local people, tea garden management and

other non-governmental organizations. In some cases, where on-sight

accommodations are available, local schools and colleges can be used to provide night

shelter to tourist, especially for ecotourists, who generally opt for minimal travel and

stay comfort. That may provide an opportunity to gain economic as well as academic

benefit to such institution by exchanging valves and ideas with tourists. A local school

or college teacher may be an ideal tourist guide, who has first hand experience of the

local attraction and can encourage educated unemployed youths to initiate small-scale

tourism ventures. In such situation, new forms oftourism, like 'village tourism', 'rural

tourism' 'farm or agro tourism' can be initiated, where small groups of tourists stay in

traditional remote village to learn about life and culture of the villagers, their farming,

fishing and other production practices and to witness the local environment. In all

such ventures, facilities and services for tourists are managed by villagers and they get

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an additional source of earning by selling tourism products of country side, which are

otherwise discarded or ignored in conventional tourism practice. Activities like

cycling, trekking, hiking, camping in the river islands, river tours by country boat,

short distance bullock cart tour, elephant riding, buffalo riding, etc. are some low-cost

ventures, that can be started with minimal investment, provided policy-makers of the

state have willingness to see potentiality of such ventures and develop necessary

linkages to promote such forms making tourism more participatory and meaningful in

the present socio-economic backdrop of a state like West Bengal.

The study has thus tried to unfold a number of important issues related to the

development of tourism in West Bengal. How ever, it may be mentioned that in view

of the vastness of the study area, the treatment of the problem leaves further scope of

study in a number of directions. However, the present work, first of it kind, is

expected to fill the vacuum and provide some amount of academic and utilitarian

value. The findings and suggestions of the study would also be useful in formulating

effective plans and programmes for sound development of the tourism industry in the

state. Proper implementation of this measure will certainly improve the condition of

tourism in the state and raise it to an important income and employment generating

sector.

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