Boost to Bengal tourism as Kolkatans plan short getaways on long weekend
Times of India | 22 January 2026
Kolkata: Kolkatans are seizing a rare 5-day-long weekend holiday window to escape the city, sending tourist footfall soaring across Bengal's most-loved destinations. The holiday bonanza begins on Thursday, with the state announcing a holiday for Saraswati Puja, followed by Netaji's birth anniversary on Friday, and culminating in Republic Day on Monday (Jan 26), with Saturday and Sunday cramped in between.
As a result, from the quiet lanes of Santiniketan to the salty sands of Digha, the pine-covered heights of Darjeeling, the rugged charm of Purulia and the wild mangroves of the Sundarbans, bookings surged sharply, with hotels filling fast and last-minute travellers scrambling for rooms and transport. Hotel associations and travel bodies said the long weekend triggered one of the busiest Jan travel spells in recent years, even as exam schedules and SIR hearings held back some families. Many tourists chose to upgrade their one-day winter picnics into three-day small vacations.
"We were planning a family picnic at the start of the month, and then we came across this long weekend holiday. We instantly transformed our one-day picnic at Kolaghat into a three-day stay at Mandarmani and Digha. We will leave on Thursday and will return on Sunday, with another day's holiday to relax," said Diptobrata Bhatacharjee, an entrepreneur from Jadavpur.
School teacher Suman Basu from Behala also planned a road trip to Santiniketan during the same period, and so did state power department executive Monolina Ghosh from Lake Town, who, along with her family and friends, will take a train to north Bengal on Thursday and plan to return on Monday. "One of my friends from Park Circus is missing out on the plan as he was called for an SIR hearing on Sunday. He tried to defer it but couldn't manage to change the schedule," said Ghosh.
Hoteliers at Bolpur and Purulia said hotels and homestays are bustling. "We usually see a spurt in business during Basanta Utsav, but this long weekend brought families earlier," said Chandranath Banerjee of Bolpur Santiniketan Hoteliers Association.
Digha and Mandarmani's beaches are also likely to be abuzz with a large number of tourists. "With the Digha Jagannath temple added to the list of attractions, this weekend is going to be one of the busiest periods the seaside experiences," said Dilip Basu, manager of a chain of hotels in Digha and Mandarmani.
Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and the surrounding areas are experiencing a "second peak". Tamal Chatterjee, a travel operator, said the sheer volume of transport requests caught many operators off guard. "It is not just the traditional favourites in the hills; even offbeat places like Bidhyang Valley in Kalimpong, and Dhotrey and Tonglu in Darjeeling are in huge demand," he said.
Anil Punjabi of Travel Agents Federation of India (East) said some even headed for international vacations to Thailand and Dubai during the period. "Usually, the post-New Year fatigue sets in by the 2nd week of Jan, but this five-day window completely flipped the script," said Punjabi.