Malda (WB), Jan 18: Tourist guides of West Bengal stand a good chance of being appointed as government guides as the authorities have decided to rope in 15 of them in each of the 20 tourist spots of the state. Besides these local level guides, who would be appointed by district administrations, the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation would also hire 50 guides for the state level.
These were announced today by T P Das, assistant director, Union Tourism Department, West Bengal region. He was here to attend a workshop on 'Tourist Friendly Awareness Programme'.
The financial burden would be borne by the Central government, Das said.
The 20 tourist spots identified by the department included hill stations of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, historical places like Malda, Murshidabad and Kolkata, pilgrim spots like Tarakeswar, Kalighat and Dakshineswar, besides Santiniketan and the Sundarbans.
In today's workshop, Das said, those who generally come in direct contact with tourists like hotel receptionists, taxi drivers and even rickshaw pullers were given an idea about how to deal with tourists in a better way.
Altogether 35 persons attended the workshop. Such workshops would also be held in other towns of tourist interest, he said. Bureau Report