Archive · 7 Sep 2026
West Bengal Tourism Video Faces Mockery Over Foreign Landmarks
West Bengal’s government showed a tourism video to promote the state.
The video mostly displayed famous places in other countries.
These included the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, Big Ben and Christ the Redeemer.
Only a very short view of the Howrah Bridge represented Bengal.
People online joked that the video might be encouraging travel away from Bengal.
A former tourism minister criticized the department for not checking the video carefully.
The current tourism minister said a technical problem caused the wrong video to play.
He said another, more accurate video was later released.
The government plans to spend money on tourism promotion and infrastructure.
A tourism promotional video for West Bengal prominently showed landmarks from foreign cities, including the Eiffel Tower and Pyramids.
The video displayed the words “West Bengal” across footage of Giza, Moscow, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.
Apart from a brief Howrah Bridge appearance, the video did not feature major Bengal destinations such as Darjeeling or Digha.
Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh said a technical glitch caused the wrong video to be shown and that it was only intended to reveal the logo.
Critics questioned the campaign, while the government released another video featuring Bengal’s mountains, forests, tea gardens and beaches.
- Who
- The West Bengal government, Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh, former tourism minister Gautam Deb and critics on social media.
- What
- A tourism promotional video drew criticism for showing foreign landmarks instead of West Bengal attractions; the government later released a Bengal-focused video.
- When
- The disputed video was unveiled on Friday, followed by another video on Saturday.
- Where
- At the Dhono Dhanyo auditorium and through social media; the first video showed locations including Giza, Moscow, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.
- Why
- The government said it wants to promote West Bengal as a global and domestic tourism destination.
Critics and Former Officials
Current Tourism Department
What the video promoted
Critics and Former Officials
Critics said the video appeared to promote travel to foreign destinations because it showed landmarks outside Bengal while giving little screen time to the state.
Current Tourism Department
The tourism minister said the video shown at the event was only a logo-reveal film and that the actual Bengal tourism film was released later.
Responsibility for the mistake
Critics and Former Officials
Former tourism minister Gautam Deb called the department’s approach casual and said the video should have been checked thoroughly before release.
Current Tourism Department
Shankar Ghosh said a technical glitch prevented the main video from playing, leading to misinterpretation.
Tourism branding strategy
Critics and Former Officials
Deb argued that the earlier “Experience Bengal” campaign was based on extensive research and planning and had helped build the state’s tourism brand.
Current Tourism Department
The current government said it is developing a new global and domestic promotion campaign while continuing infrastructure development.
- Tourism budget
- The government allotted ₹500 crore for tourism promotion and infrastructure building.
- Video title
- “West Bengal: Where India feels different”
- Foreign landmarks shown
- The Eiffel Tower, Pyramids, Big Ben, St Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin and Christ the Redeemer.
- Bengal landmark shown
- The Howrah Bridge appeared briefly in the disputed video.
- Alternative video
- A later video showed Bengal’s mountains, tea gardens, forests and southern beaches.
- Government explanation
- Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh attributed the incident to a technical glitch and said the disputed video was not the core promotional film.
- Earlier tourism branding
- The previous government used “Beautiful Bengal” and later “Experience Bengal — The Sweetest Part of India.”