THE WEST Indian state of Gujarat is undergoing a transformation, with international brands turning up in succession and a tourism marketing body that is making its presence felt at major marts around the world.
Inaugurating the second edition of the Gujarat Travel Mart, Vipul Mittra, principal secretary – tourism, civil aviation and pilgrimage, Government of Gujarat, said: “We are embarking on a large-scale promotion of Gujarat as a tourism destination. We have invited buyers and media to avail of several post-event tours for familiarisation with our diverse products: deserts to wildlife, culture to beaches and medical tourism to Buddhist trails.”
A large number of erstwhile palaces and princely homes have been turned into hotels in Gujarat; chains including Starwood, Marriott, Ramada and Banyan Tree have expanded here; and several more hotels are in the pipeline.
Sajan Gupta, director, Vayu Seva Tours & Travel said: “Gujarat is developing multiple new tourism attractions and packaging them very well. Connectivity and infrastructure are good; we hope to get substantially more inbound tourists this year.”
Sanjay Kaul, managing director of the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat said: “We are employing the largest promotional budget for tourism in the country, and our initiatives will yield very rich results soon. We will be present in all major international travel marts to showcase our tourist attractions to the world”.
The state NTO is also banking on its latest commercials featuring Indian movie icon Amitabh Bachchan, which have grabbed eyeballs both in India and overseas.
Held at the new Mahatma Mandir Exhibition and Convention Centre, this year’s Gujarat Travel Mart saw 124 sellers attending compared to last year’s 64. It also attracted 200 buyers from 30 countries and 100 Indian buyers.
