BCCI to organise shopping fest

Come October and Kolkata is going to have a shopping festival of its own, modeled on the famous examples of Dubai and Singapore.

The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has teamed up with the West Bengal tourism department to organise a nine-day shopping festival to showcase the city as well as the state.

Biswadip Gupta, president of BCCI, said people from every spectrum of life were being involved during the festival.

"It will be a signature event in tourism and retailing. We will rope in shopping malls, small retailers, restaurants, hoteliers, entertainment complexes for the event," Gupta said.

The chamber is planning to hold roadshows in different states of the country and also in neighbouring Bangladesh to attract tourists for the event.

To add glamour to the event, film festival, food festival, art exhibitions, handloom and jute product exhibitions, musical soiree, fashion shows, magic shows would also be organised

"We want to showcase the retail buying power of Kolkata and also to promote the city as a tourist destination. It should give a facelift to city's image before investors," R K Tripathy, secretary, tourism department, noted.

"We are in talks with airlines and hotels to offer special packages to tourists coming to the city to attend the festival," Aniruddha Lahiri, vice president, BCCI, informed.

Major retailers who have confirmed their participation include Forum, West Side, Metro Shopping Plaza, City Centre, Swabhumi, Vardaan Market, Shreeram Arcade Landmark, Crossword and Cafe Coffee Day, Navin Suchanti from BCCI informed.