After hosting around 12,000 visitors from abroad during Durga Puja last year fresh on the heels of the festival’s inclusion in the coveted Unesco list of intangible cultural heritage, the city is set to host an even larger number of foreign tourists this year.
Queries have started pouring in from the UK, USA, France, South Korea, Singapore, Germany and Australia from tourists planning to travel India during Durga Puja and keeping Kolkata in their travel itineraries.
“The queries are at an all-time high this year. We have been receiving queries from Germany and Italy who are seeking travel packages centering around Kolkata during Durga Puja. There are also queries from a number of NRIs who plan to return home during Durga Puja to enjoy the festival with their families and friends,” said Manav Soni, chairman (east) Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
After a busy summer vacation, tourists from Kolkata are planning Durga Puja travels well in advance vying for tried and tested south-east Asian countries as well as a set of new destinations that have emerged over the last couple of years, post Covid. While places like Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand are topping the preference charts, there have been good queries for travel to new destinations like Ras Al Khaimah in UAE, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Japan.
As per data available with travel agents, “foreign presence” during Durga Puja was at an all-time high last year. Kolkata airport authorities had shared that close to 37,000 passengers had come to Kolkata from abroad in the two weeks prior to the Puja. This number didn’t include a chunk of tourists from abroad, as Kolkata does not have any direct link to the US or Europe. Travellers from those destinations usually reach Kolkata via domestic flights from Delhi or Mumbai.“Usually, NRIs and foreign tourists avoid visiting the city during Durga Puja because of the crowds. Also, autumn is an unusual time for families to travel to India from the US or Europe, as schools stay open there during this time. However, the Unesco heritage tag has certainly helped us promote Bengal as a destination during puja and many are coming over since last year,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman (east) of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
The state government is also attending trade fairs and is planning travel road shows in foreign lands to boost tourism around Durga Puja.
“This time the Durga Puja carnival will be the biggest of its kind and will be a spectacle for the entire world. We are in regular meetings with travel agents and are asking them to curate packages to bring in more footfall from abroad during the pujas,” said Babul Supriyo, the state tourism minister.
