Wanderlust is bringing Bengalis out of their homes even during the most coveted festival season — Durga Puja. Lately, more and more people in the state have been travelling miles away from home, not only within the country but even abroad during the puja season. No wonder, West Bengal today ranks number 5 in the country in terms of turnover in the tourism sector, after Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat and Delhi.
It is the season, say travel agents, which prompts both?the back-packers and leisure travellers?to travel miles. ??Durga Puja is usually the right time to travel for the long stretch of holidays it offers. More and more Bengalis leave town to get away from the pujas,?? says Devendra Parekh, secretary (eastern region) of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
??Even going by conservative estimates, it seems at least 40% people go out during the pujas??, he said.
Within the country, destinations like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and the hills of north Bengal have always been an attraction for tourists from West Bengal. International destinations, like Bangkok, Malayasia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Australia and Dubai are becoming popular, too.
There is another interesting trend. The younger generation, who are into their first jobs, especially in the IT or ITeS sector, are earning anywhere between Rs 15,000-Rs 30,000 a month. Typically, they are unmarried and staying with their parents. So all their income is disposable and they are keen to spend on travel, says Deep Kalra, founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip.com.
Last year, there were 130 domestic departures during the puja week. ??Assuming that all the flights went full, at least 1.1 lakh passengers travelled to different destinations,?? Parekh said. More than 11,000 passengers headed for overseas destinations during the period.
Eastern Railway (ER) had arranged for 84 special trains for the pujas last year. It added 52,405 berths in some trains also generating 1,26,361 berths last year. According to an ER official, arrangements were made for special trains to Jodhpur, New Delhi, Alipurduar, Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri.
??The rush period was from the third week of September to the first week of November,?? said an ER spokesperson. Normally, the rush period starts a week before Durga Puja and continues till almost a month after the Visarjan.
For holidayers from West Bengal, Goa is a hotspot, followed by Kerala and Puri in Orissa. ??The trend now is to go on week-long vacations rather than for three-four days,?? said Parekh.
However, tourists from the state are more into sight-seeing and shopping than adventure. People often come to us with a budget in their mind and ask for suggestions to zero in on a destination, said Parekh. While the cost for a local destination starts from Rs 12,000 per person, it is Rs 50,000 and upward for international destinations, he added.
The travel and tourism market in the state has been growing at 20-25% year-on-year and is expected to be worth Rs 2,073 crore over the next three years, says Kalra. ??The leisure travel market in Kolkata is set to witness an upswing?the share of leisure travel will grow to 48% from the current 40% in the next three years,?? he added.
