The state has engaged international consultants Ernst and Young to advise on ways to rope in private investment in tourism. The state's tourism policy will be announced after receiving the consultant's report. "The draft tourism policy will be ready within a month," state tourism minister Manab Mukherjee told the Assembly on Tuesday.

"We have engaged an international consultant to study areas of tourism development in the state. The firm will select tourist destinations and investment areas. We need a good dose of private investment in the tourism sector," the minister said.

"We will seek private investment and announce new incentives to promote Bengal as a tourist destination in the east," he added.

He said the government had requested the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to advise on developing the Sunderbans as a tourist spot. "We can't do anything arbitrarily in the Sunderbans. We have to be very careful," he said.

The minister hoped that UNWTO's report would come within a few months.He also informed the House that there were plans to invest Rs 300 crore with assistance from the Asian Development Bank to promote beach tourism in the state.