The West Bengal Tourism Department has introduced a luxury houseboat for hosting corporate events while floating on the Hooghly.
Apart from business meetings, the houseboat is also ideal for hosting birthday parties or similar social functions that do not involve a very large gathering of people. The houseboat has a capacity for 30 people, and has facilities like a conference hall and a dining space for providing corporates a unique experience.
West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited (WBTDCL) will be managing the whole operation. A senior official of WBTDCL said the Government is giving special emphasis on river cruising in an effort to boost the waterway sector.
The official added that the booking tariff is Rs 5,000 per hour with the minimum chartering duration being three hours. In the beginning, there will be a discount of 15 per cent except on weekends and national holidays. The reporting place for availing the houseboat is the Babughat jetty while the place for booking the same is the booking office located at the Tourism Centre in BBD Bagh.
WBTDCL will soon introduce online booking facility.
Besides the houseboat for corporates, WBTDCL operates a vessel for conventional cruises called Sumangal. It can also be booked at and boarded from the same spots. Sumangal can carry 80 people, and the cost per person and minimum chartering duration are the same as that of the houseboat.
Sumangal has an additional facility in the form of a kitchen, the charge for which is Rs 1,000. The official said WBTDCL will soon go for a massive publicity campaign about the houseboat as well as their conventional cruise, Sumangal. (UNI)
