State Finance, Industries and Commerce Minister Dr Amit Mitra will lead a delegation to the third China South Asia Business Forum and Expo to be held between June 11 and 16 at Kunming, China to showcase West Bengal as an investment-friendly state.
Promoting Bengal
The government would participate in the expo in a big way to showcase Bengal. The governor of Yunnan had earlier invited the West Bengal government officials to showcase the state in China.
The government will put up 28 stalls in the expo focusing on industry , tourism and food processing.
Dr Mitra will lead the state delegation along with senior officials of food processing, industries, tourism and micro, small and medium enterprises departments. WBIDC and industry representatives will also accompany him.
Bilateral ties
The state government is already working on a project to restore the old Chinatown in Tiretta Bazaar through preservation of the historic character of the place, by revitalizing the area into a street food hub and introducing a night market that could attract tourists from China to come and have a look at.
MoUs will also be signed between tour operators of Kunming and West Bengal that will help them exchange familiarization visits.
Already, the West Bengal Incentive Scheme 2015 has come into effect in consultation with travel and tour operators’ associations and industry stakeholders. Apart from usual incentives, provisions for granting tourism promotion assistance at the rate of 75% of VAT for five years and entitlement of additional floor area ratio for mega tourism units have come as a big boost to investment in the tourism sector.
Sister cities
Kolkata and Kunming are now dubbed as sister cities and there is already a direct flight between the two cities with flight timing of just over two hours. The frequency can also be raised.
This year, West Bengal tourism will be repositioned in the international and domestic tour and travel sector with a new brand logo. Having a state delegation led by the finance minister and senior bureaucrats and industrialists will only further help in showcasing the state in this sector.