Suvendu Adhikari unveils new West Bengal tourism logo; faces criticism

CM Suvendu Adhikari during the launch of the new West Bengal tourism logo at the Dhono Dhanyo auditorium in Kolkata on September 4, 2026. Photo: X/@BJP4Bengal West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday (September 4, 2026) unveiled a new State tourism logo and highlighted his Government’s push towards better infrastructure development. Meanwhile, the new logo has faced criticism for the quality of work. The new logo goes with the tagline “West Bengal – Where India feels different”, changed from the old Trinamool Congress-era tagline “Experience Bengal - The Sweetest Part of India”. The Tourism Department’s new theme, “Dekhbo Natun Rupe, Dekhbo Natun Chokhe [See in a new light, see with a new vision]” was also launched at the same event at the Dhono Dhanyo auditorium in Kolkata. Mr Adhikari said that his government has allotted ₹500 crore in this fiscal year, for the development of tourism in the State. He added that there is a need to push for better tourism infrastructure development to attract more visitors. “At one point West Bengal used to be a preferred travel destination. But during the last 15 years, here, we have destroyed our nature and tourism infrastructure. That is why now tourists prefer other States as travel destinations,” Mr Adhikari said. He also added that they will increase manpower in this industry to make the infrastructure better. They will also focus on revamping the government’s tourist guesthouses to attract more tourists. The government will also push to make transportation better to help boost the tourism sector. “We will procure 11 new boats that will be used for water tourism from Babughat on the Ganges to Gangasagar and other small islands. There are also plans to plant 20 lakh mangrove saplings in the Sundarbans,” the CM further said. Mr Adhikari said that the State will collaborate with the Centre to get better ideas for the development of tourism. New logo attracts criticism on social mediaHowever, the new logo faced massive criticism on social media with many calling the work “immature”. Netizens across multiple social media sites came down heavily on the logo, asking why the promotional video does not feature places from West Bengal, and rather shows multiple places from foreign countries. Former Governor of Tripura Tathagata Roy posted the logo video on his social media and said that the work was “very stupid and amateurish.” “Why should scenes from Moscow, Egypt and Rio de Janiero feature in a video on West Bengal? And ‘how India feels different’! Is it trying to showcase West Bengal or the whole of India? This video does disservice to the achievements of the BJP government of West Bengal,” Mr Roy wrote in his post. He also asked for the video to be taken down immediately. Meanwhile, Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien wrote in post, “TRASH is a mild word for this communication.” Published - September 05, 2026 01:06 pm IST