Footloose Bengalis loosened their purse strings a little more than inflation this summer. Tourists from West Bengal spent about 60 per cent more during the April-May holiday season than last year.

A study by travel information portal, HolidayIQ, has revealed that, on an average, a traveller from Bengal (especially Kolkata) shelled out nearly Rs 1,800 a night this season compared with Rs 1,100 during the same period last year.

The portal attributed this mainly to higher disposable incomes and increasing trend of graduating to higher level on accommodation, such as resorts instead of holiday homes and hotels.

“Propensity of spending more, choosing better alternative accommodations are the reasons why these travellers have spent almost 60 per cent higher. Inflation, however, has also contributed to this to an extent,” Hari Nair, Founder and CEO, HolidayIQ, told reporters here on Tuesday at a press conference.

According to him, more than half of these travellers have opted for newer accommodation as they preferred more activities on a holiday.

Destination

Interestingly, Nair said, the Bengal Government should give priority in promoting its tourism products in Mumbai than overseas.

He cited that West Bengal received the highest number of travellers from Western part of the country comprising cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad during this summer (April-May).

While 62 per cent of the visitors came from regions other than East and North-East, West region alone contributed 30 per cent of the total traffic to West Bengal.

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