Sourav Ganguly to visit Tripura tomorrow to promote tourism

Earlier in June, a delegation led by Chowdhury met Ganguly at his Kolkata residence to rope him in as the state tourism ambassador. Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha also held a telephonic conversation with the former cricket captain and later informed that Ganguly has agreed to become the brand ambassador of Tripura Tourism.

“After arriving at the Agartala airport, Sourav Ganguly would sign an agreement with the tourism department and hold a press conference at Ujjayanta Palace Museum. Our chief minister has already declared him as a state guest,” Chowdhury told reporters at Geetanjali Tourism Guest House in Agartala.

The minister said the appointment of Ganguly as brand ambassador would help promote tourism in the state. He added that the state is planning to develop new tourist destinations.

“The Union government has chosen to develop two tourist destinations in the state under its Swadesh Darshan Scheme – one is Agartala and the other is Unakoti district. An amount of Rs 70 crore each will be provided to both destinations. In the future, we will spend Rs 300-350 crore to develop the tourism sector.

“Two tenders – Rs 58 crore for Chabimura and Rs 60 crore for Unakoti district – have already been floated,” he said.

The BJP-led state government has started tourism-focused initiatives like eco-tourism, and tea tourism, and ramped up religious sites since coming to power in 2018.