The Bengal tourism department has sent letters to all district magistrates across the state, asking them to expedite the process to provide training to service providers associated with the tourism industry in their districts.

Nandini Chakravorty, principal secretary of the department, said in the letter sent on November 7 that officials in the district administration should take initiatives to find out “master trainers”, who in turn, will train service providers.

“In the tourism sector, the competence of service providers, including the waiter, the cab driver or the steward, is very important. That is why, the state has launched the West Bengal Tourism Service Provider Capacity Building Scheme this year and now wants to start the training process to hone their skills,” said a source in the tourism department.

The decision to provide training to service providers comes at a time when the state cabinet has granted industry status to the hospitality sector.

Since 2011, when Mamata Banerjee assumed the chief minister’s chair, the tourism sector has always found a place in her priority list.

In the past 12 years, a number of tourist destinations, new infrastructure, including accommodations, have mushroomed in the state.

“Also, over these years, homestay accommodations have come up in different districts of the state, including remote places, which are in great demand among those seeking offbeat locations. Those running the homestays are mostly from rural areas. However, being a part of the service industry, is it important for them to have the
basic skills so that they can provide better services to tourists staying in their accommodations. In a similar manner, it is necessary that others working at different tiers of the sector also have the skills to make the experience of tourists memorable,” the source from the tourism department added.

As a part of the plan, all those associated with the industry and handling tourists will be trained on three basic aspects.

These are soft skills, including clear and friendly communication, thorough and authentic knowledge about the history and geography of specific districts of Bengal and accurate information about local accommodations and transport facilities.

The department, sources said, will engage experienced people of the industry as master trainers at the district level who will train others. Once the training is complete, the participants will be provided certificates of registered service providers.

“In fact, to bring in more and more people under the ambit of the training, the department has amended certain clauses pertaining to educational qualifications. The exercise will be effective in improving the quality of service provided to tourists visiting Bengal. This, in turn, can help in augmenting the footfall of tourists in the state,” said an official.