Eco-tourism plan - for Sunderbans.

August 6, 2002

By Our Bureau.

08/06/2002

Business Line (The Hindu)

KOLKATA, Aug. 5

THE West Bengal Government has drawn up an ambitious eco-tourism project to

promote the bio-diversity of the Sunderbans, the Chief Minister, Mr

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has said. The project will be backed by the United

Nations Development Programme.

The project will be part of the State's new thrust on tourism, directed

partly towards niche segments. The Sunderbans forests, well-known for

mangroves and home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, are expected to fit the bill

adequately.

The latest policy will source assistance from external sources, and roping

in the corporate sector is not ruled out.

The State, Mr Bhattacharjee said, will back tourism ventures mooted by

corporates.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the Institute for International

Management & Technology (IIMT) at Raichak near Kolkata on Sunday.

" We need private participation in the hospitality sector in the State.

Groups like ITC and Hyatt are already playing a key role in this area, and

there is enough scope for others, " the Chief Minister said. West Bengal, he

added, has a large pool of talent suited to the services sector, including

hospitality.

IIMT was set up in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University of the UK.

The school, which will be the university's second campus in India, will

offer a B.Sc. in hotel management. The first campus in Gurgaon is supported

by Radisson Hotels (a subsidiary of Carlson Hospitality of the US).

Folder Name: Asia Conservation Tiger

Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 87

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