KAHINI CHAKRABORTY – Mumbai
Gujarat Tourism will introduce a new tourism policy soon. The policy will focus on infrastructure development for the hotel sector and attract more participation from the private sector. Saurabh Patel, minister for tourism and industry, Government of Gujarat, on the sidelines of the recently held Gujarat Tourism Travel Meet roadshow in Mumbai, informed, “We are going to concentrate heavily on the tourism industry this year. Our objective is to soon be a part of the Incredible India campaign of the ministry of tourism (MoT). Given the growth in the state, we not only want to promote our festivals, religious, adventure destinations etc but also target the MICE sector. We are planning to develop homestay facilities to give tourists a chance to experience the local flavour of the daily life in Gujarat. We are also going to develop an artificial park in Amreli and improving roadside amenities and infrastructure in the state.” The state has already started working on the Vibrant Gujarat 2015 event.
The state government has granted the tourism department a budget of Rs 400 crore for tourism development. “This budget we plan to use to develop tourism infrastructure as well as promote the state’s tourism offerings in India and abroad,” Patel said. From a set up of 45,000 rooms development three years ago, the total room inventory stands at 64,000 in the state, which the tourism department is looking at further increasing. Maharashtra has been an important market for Gujarat tourism.
The Meet was also attended by Kamlesh Patel, chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat (TCGL), and Sanjay Kaul, managing director, TCGL and Vipul Mittra, principal secretary, tourism, civil aviation, pilgrimage & Devasthan (Industries & Mines Department), Government of Gujarat.
