One day to go, book fair registers 23 lakh footfall, over 20 crore sales
Times of India | 9 February 2025
Kolkata: The 48th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF), which will draw to an end on Sunday, almost caught up with last year's footfall as 23 lakh people visited the fair till Saturday and last year's count was nearly 29 lakh. The last day, and that, too, a Sunday, was left and many more people were expected to visit, said an organiser.
Book sales, too, were quite encouraging.Delhi Election Results 2025Saffron surge in Delhi as BJP ends AAP's reign in landslide victoryDelhi results: Complete list of winners from AAP, BJP and CongressTop 10 winners and losers in Delhi electionsOfficials of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the organisers of the fair, said that till Friday, books worth Rs 20 crore were sold. Last year, the total sales figure stood at a little over Rs 25 lakh.
"Till Friday, the footfall of 19 lakh was comparatively less than that last year. There were six holidays in 2024, which fell within the duration of the book fair, while this year, there were two less. Also, last year, the book fair continued for two weeks, while this time, the fair will be wrapped up in 12 days," said Guild president Tridib Chatterjee. But he pointed out that book sales figures showed encouraging trends. "Though around 19 lakh people visited till Friday, books worth Rs 20 crore were sold," he said. Last year, when the total footfall was 29 lakh, the book sales figure was around Rs 25 crore.
Chatterjee said that from next year, they would try to schedule the book fair in such a way that more public holidays could be included so that more bibliophiles could visit. "The duration of IKBF is determined by a number of factors, including the theme country's availability and international calendar. The fair would have attracted more visitors and generated higher sales had holidays, like Jan 23 and Jan 26, been included," Chatterjee said.
Last year's IKBF ended on a high note, with record-breaking footfall and book sales ever in the history of the book fair, with nearly 29 lakh people thronging the fairground. In 2023, the book fair footfall was close to 26 lakh, with books worth nearly Rs 25 crore being sold.
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