The fifth edition of the Bengal Travel Mart, the largest event conducted in the state to showcase tourism destinations, will commence here on February 22.

Organised by the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators Association, the three-day event will be held at Montana Vista in Uttarayon, near Siliguri.

“We have been organising the travel mart for promotion of tourism in Bengal and Northeast. Representatives of tourism departments in different states and prominent travel houses and delegates from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh will attend the three-day mart,” said Sandipan Ghosh, the general secretary of the association.

According to the organisers, emphasis will be on promotion of homestays, which have mushroomed across north Bengal and Sikkim in the past few years.

New tourist attractions in and around Siliguri, like the Bengal Safari Park, Ewam Buddhist monastery and Bhorer Alo, will also be highlighted at the event, the organisers said.

“The stakeholders of the tourism industry in the region will get an opportunity to interact with those associated with travel trade in different states. The tour operators from outside the region can be informed about new tourism products, destinations, hotels and other infrastructure,” said Ghosh.

Besides, ordinary people visiting the mart can learn about tourist destinations in other states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tripura.

“Tourism industry stakeholders from Nepal Tourism Board, Pokhara Tourism Council and Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh will attend the fest,” Ghosh said.