First time in India: Gujarat Tourism to accredit, assist and promote private tour operators and private hotels
|
Mumbai, 08 August, 2014
There
needs to be a political will and a burning desire to develop tourism in
any region, and Gujarat, having recognised its potential has initiated a
unique model of public private partnership to further strength tourism
growth in the region and offer better facilities to the tourists.
Tourism
Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) will be facilitating private tour
operators from across the country, wherein they can now register
themselves with Gujarat Tourism as certified operators. Further to this,
TCGL will also be offering facility of online booking of private hotels
that will be registered with it.
The
Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL), has successfully
attracted an increasing number of tourists, both domestic and foreign to
the state of Gujarat. The gross tourist flow during the year 2013-14
was 287.88 lakh which is 13.30% higher than the flow in 2012-13.
Domestic
tourism over the years has been outpacing the international tourism
growth in India and Gujarat also strongly believes that if domestic
tourism grows then international tourism will automatically flow in.
Maharashtra continues to be the top state in India, from where Gujarat
gets the maximum tourists (37%) share and 22.47 lakh numbers in the last
financial year, 2012-13.
Addressing the media in Mumbai, Shri Kamlesh Patel, Chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd.
said, “We will continue to aggressively market Gujarat as a tourist
destination in India as well as abroad. To further strengthen our
efforts in this direction we have introduced a public private
partnership model whereby various tour operators both from within and
outside of Gujarat can register with TCGL through its website. Not only
this, but the private operators can also now showcase their own packages
on Gujarat Tourism website which will be offered to the tourists
looking at visiting Gujarat.”
He
further added, that apart from TCGL’s resorts, tourists will also have
the option of booking private hotels at any destination across the
state, through its website.
Gujarat
is filled with a variety of destinations which would cater to all types
of tourists: beaches & coastal sites, forests & natural
ecosystems, gardens & lakes, heritage monuments & structures,
archaeological & architectures, museums & learning spaces,
religious sites, Gandhi Circuit and Buddhist sites.
Shri Sanjay Kaul, IAS, Managing Director, TCGL,
mentioned that “Private Tour operators from across the country can now
register themselves with Gujarat Tourism as certified operators for
Gujarat. This will help us to reach out to more number of potential
tourists and also help the operators in availing timely information and
facilities from TCGL.” Mr. Kaul also added, “Another unique initiative
from TCGL is the launch of Industrial tours for students with an aim to
showcase the industrial growth of Gujarat. To begin with, these will be
conducted at – Amul Dairy at Anand, Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation
at Vadodara, General Motors at Halol and the Solar Park at Patan.
Students will be given a guided tour and insight into these plants and
their functioning.”
Prominent
tour operators and hoteliers from Gir, Dwarka, Kutch, Junagadh,
Saputara etc. were present at the Travel Meet organized by Gujarat
Tourism at a prominent hotel in the City.
Gujarat
Tourism has come to the city to showcase its forthcoming events to the
tourism stakeholders of the State and talk about their public private
partnership model.
Monsoon Festival: Beginning on 16th August to 13th September, 2014,
Monsoon Festival is going to be a month long event at Saputara, the
emerging Hill Station of Gujarat at the beginning of the Sahyadri
Hills. Saputara attracts a number of tourists from different parts of
the country. If the visitor moves out a little, there are three major
water falls (Gira, Mayadevi and Girmal Falls), close to Saputara.
Tarnetar Fair: Held during 29th to 31st August
this year, Tarnetar Fair is a celebration of ethnic Gujarat’s
folk-dance, music, costumes and the arts, centred around young tribal
men and women seeking marriage partners. Being the most important fair
of Saurashtra region, Tarnetar is attended by more than 50,000 people.
Navratri Festival:
The world’s longest dancing festival, Navratri Festival is a 9 nights’
non-stop celebration of dance, music and devotion. Thousands gather at
the temples for prayer and aarti, and as evening approaches garba and
raas break out in temple courtyards, environs and nearby villages. This
year’s celebrations are from 25th September to 03rd October 2014
Each night, all over the state, villages and cities alike, people
gather in open spaces to celebrate feminine divinity, referred to as
Shakti.
The Rann Utsav:
The arid land of Kutch blossoms into a magical world during the Rann
Utsav. The specially set up tents give an unusual experience of staying
in the wilderness while enjoying the cosy comforts of a star hotel. It
is a unique experience to see the saline desert shimmering in the full
moon night of Sharad Poornima. Tourists can enjoy kite flying, hot-air
ballooning, embroidery and handicrafts making workshops during their
stay. Kutch is getting ready to celebrate Rann Utsav during 01st December 2014 to 18th March 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment