Kolkata, Oct. 1 -- West Bengal's tourism sector has received investment proposals worth Rs 12,634 crore, with an employment potential of around 22,000 jobs, state Tourism minister Shankar Ghosh said on Thursday, as Union Tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat called for a shift from monument-centric tourism to destination management to drive investment, jobs and local economic activity.

Speaking at the ICC Hospitality & Tourism Summit, Ghosh said the state expected over Rs 2,500 crore in direct infrastructure investment, backed by a Rs 500-crore allocation in 2026-27, to make destinations globally accessible. The state is also developing destinations including Mirik and Kalimpong.

Shekhawat said tourism currently contributed slightly less than 6 per cent to India's GDP and the Centre aimed to raise this to 7 per cent in five years and 10 per cent by 2047. With the sector registering around 14 per cent growth, he said India needed to measure tourism beyond footfalls and international arrivals, focusing on length of stay, tourist spending, employment and benefits reaching local enterprises, crafts, culture and cuisine.

"Tourists should not just come to see a monument and leave," he said, stressing the need to manage the entire visitor journey from arrival and accommodation to experiences, local spending and departure.

Shekhawat called for destination management organisations, greater participation of local communities and stakeholders and a true single-window system to facilitate investment.

He also identified MICE, events and concert tourism as areas capable of generating additional economic activity. For Kolkata, he said the city had the MICE infrastructure, hotels, connectivity, culture and heritage to emerge as a major tourism and events destination.

Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO of Indian Hotels Company, said the group had reached 42 hotels in operation and development across the East and Northeast, against a target of 50, with at least half planned for West Bengal. He said tourism could create up to 10 jobs on average globally.

ICC DG Rajeev Singh said tourism contributed 13 per cent to Bengal's GDP and stressed the need for policies, infrastructure and connectivity to unlock the sector's potential.

Harshavardhan Neotia and Parthiv Neotia also spoke at the summit.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.