Could it be that Bengal is, indeed, India’s sweetest spot? According to a recent official estimation, Bengal has emerged as one of the top tourist destinations in the country. The state tourism minister has declared that as many as 18.5 crore tourists visited Bengal in 2024 — this was the highest tourist footfall ever in the state’s history. The figure accounts for both domestic and foreign visitors. Tourists in Bengal surpassed the number of visitors to more popular destinations such as Kerala and Rajasthan. This helped the state considerably improve upon its numbers: the state had received 8.4 crore tourists in 2022, and 14.5 crore in 2023. What must be noted is that the growth in state tourism was achieved even though there was a precipitous decline in the number
of guests from restive Bangladesh. The deepening footprints of tourists to Bengal can be attributed to several factors. Homestay infrastructure has been boosted: Bengal currently has the highest number of operational homestays — 5,322 — in the country and has received proposals for 3,755 new ones. The development of heritage and religious destinations, such as Santiniketan, Hooghly, Jhargram and North Bengal, as well as the government’s promotion of Bengal as a hub for conference tourism, also contributed to the success. Bengal’s tourism sector is growing at 15% and accounts for 13% of the state’s GDP. About 6% of the total employment in Bengal now comes from this sector.
However, the success must not deflect attention from the underlying challenges. The availability of all-weather roads is an issue. Private transport operators have also been known to charge exorbitant rates. Quality infrastructure with modern amenities is not available evenly. Darjeeling faces water shortages during peak tourist season, waste management has not kept pace with the inflow of tourists, and over-tourism is resulting in the degradation of local ecologies. If Bengal is to lead India in tourism and also derive economic benefits from its burgeoning tourism sector, these challenges must be addressed at the earliest.