The West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) will undergo restructuring along the lines of a final draft report prepared by consulting agency, Mott Macdonald.
Mott Macdonald has suggested promotion of tourist destinations and products, with private participation, as a revenue stream.
TVN Rao, managing director of WBTDC, said that it could done through acquiring land and developing the basic infrastructure through the tendering process. The report has also proposed that the corporation should develop a land bank.
WBTDC currently promotes around 24 tourism packages, which would have to be increased along with concentrating on promoting destinations in West Bengal, according to the report.
The corporation would also have to increase commercial spend on these destinations.
The report was expected to be approved by the government of West Bengal, by April, informed Rao.
The upgradation and growth plan would have to be undertaken in the next six-seven months.
The report has indicated that WBTDC would have to achieve a turnover of Rs 56 crore by 2015 from the current level of Rs 26 crore. For the next three years, capital investment was pegged at Rs 63 crore, with a net profit of Rs 5-6 crore, as projected by the report.
Further, upgrading nine tourist lodges at Digha, Durgapur, Shantiniketan, Mainak, Udayachal, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jaldapara and Sajnakhali to three star category had also been recommended. The restructuring in this case would entail increasing the number of rooms to 500 from 300.
Provision of banquet halls along with conferencing facilities would be developed, said Rao. The report suggested that the corporation should acquire around 20 deluxe buses over a period of three years.
Currently the tourism corporation owns no such buses. This apart, the draft laid down details that the corporation should acquire a fifth vessel apart from upgrading the already existing tourist launches. At present, there were four.
