With people from Bengal constituting over 20 per cent of the total bulk of tourists visiting Orissa, both the state governments are looking at prospects of developing a Bengal-Orissa tourism circuit.

Orissa Tourism Minister Debi Prasad Mishra met his Bengal counterpart Manabendra Mukherjee on his visit to Kolkata on Friday. “In developing tourism in eastern region, Bengal has played an important role. Orissa has potential and given its similarity with Bengal, both should work together,” said Mishra.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation and West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation next month in this connection. The MoU will enable the development and exchange of tourism packages between the states - facilitating flow of foreign tourists coming from Kolkata to Orissa.

The Orissa Tourism department is also wooing private investors from Bengal for developing ecological resorts, beach resorts, hotel projects and water/adventure sports. Besides, the government is in the process of leasing out 31 properties. It has asked private players from Bengal to bid for the properties.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed the development of a road map for potential tourist spots, packages to attract visitors from South East Asia, China and the Buddhist regions. The two governments were also mulling the proposal of asking the Railway minister to extend the train from Delhi to Patna till Bhubaneswar via Kolkata and start a special tourist train from the city to Puri.