West Bengal records 18 crore tourists in last one year, a new high, says tourism minister Indranil Sen

Kolkata: West Bengal has received 18 crore tourists in the last one year, which is record high, said State Tourism Minister Indranil Sen, while speaking in the assembly on Monday.

Talking about various tourism projects in the state while replying to questions by various legislators, Sen said a record number of tourists visited Bengal this financial year, which is around 18 crore.

“Several new tourism destinations are flourishing in Bengal, including Khairabera and Muruguma, where new tourism properties have come up and become very popular,” Sen said.


The state government is focusing on religious circuit tourism in 400 religious spots across the state. The state minister pointed out about such religious tourist destinations in Shantiniketan, Hooghly, Jhargram and North Bengal. Notably, the West Bengal government has built a huge Jagannath temple in Digha which will be inaugurated in April this year.

The minister said that there are ,5322 homestays, which is highest in the country and which are operating in the state, giving a boost to the tourism sector. “The state has received 3755 new proposals, the minister added.

The minister spoke about MICE tourism and the state government is taking an active role in this segment. “During the recently completed Bengal Global Business Summit, we have signed several MoUs in connection with MICE tourism,” he said.