Kolkata: Even as Kolkata readies to attract the highest number of foreigners this Oct, riding on the global curiosity and popularity of Durga Puja following its inclusion in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) hopes to attract more travellers from Kolkata to the city state during the festive holiday than ever before.
“A large number of families have already firmed up plans to travel to Singapore this Oct. We expect strong numbers this Durga Puja. In the first six months of the year, there has been a 17% rise in travel from India, including Kolkata. While 5.4 lakh Indians had visited Singapore between Jan and June 2023, this year there have been 6.3 lakh visitors,” said STB regional director (India, Middle East, South Asia and Africa) Markus Tan.
While Singapore has flight connections to 17 Indian cities, Kolkata is one of the priority markets. There are two daily flights between the two cities. “We expect more capacity to be added by airlines during the winter schedule that begins in Oct,” said Tan.