Tourism thriving in Gujarat, locals reaping benefits
The place is Saputara and it is the apt time to enjoy monsoon showers in this hill station at about 4,000 ft above sea level and just four hour drive from Surat and five hours from Mumbai.
Look beyond Rann of Kutch, Gir Lions, mouth-watering Srikhand and fabric shopping in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state-Gujarat. Not many know that Gujarat has a hill station! More, there's a waterfall, which the locals call 'Mini Niagara'.
The place is Saputara and it is the apt time to enjoy monsoon showers in this hill station at about 4,000 ft above sea level and just four hour drive from Surat and five hours from Mumbai. "Finding new locations and involving locals as major stakeholders as in the case of Saputara Hills in Gujarat's scenic Dang district, primarily a tribal belt bordering Maharashtra, is next on the state tourism agenda," informed Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary (tourism).
Mitra said, "In the past few years, we've only followed the agenda set up by the now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that is to use tourism as a means for economic development and make sure that the revenue generated out of it reaches local population. We're ensuring that more locals get employment and funds allocated under tourism is spent for development."
Saputara is a testimony to this economic principle, with packed hotels, snarls on the roads, and dining halls in restaurants crowded with tourists.
"We're surprised by so many tourists around. The destination is an 'all-veg, family destination', which has become a major hit among tourists from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat," Mitra said.
The state tourism is now moving ahead with an agenda to meet the demand of tourists and create better travel infrastructure in the region without disturbing the local ecology and tribal population.
"Thanks to Bollywood icon and Gujarat tourism ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, Gujarat's tourism has topped in arrivals and investment. About Rs 39,000 crore have already been invested this year by private players in the tourism and allied sectors. We're now focusing on developing Agrade infrastructure in the 20-top destinations where 80 per cent tourists prefer to go," Mitra said.
There are several places in the state which are witnessing growing interest among travellers, both national and global. "Be it Kutch Festival in Rann or Kite Festival in Ahmedabad or Lion Safaris in Gir, Gujarat is the new hotspot and also the first stop for private investors," Mitra said.
He also added that the state has the potential to attract an investment up to Rs 48,000 crore in the tourism sector as per 'BIG Vision 2020', and to make it a reality, the state government has formed Gujarat Tourism Project Development Company Limited (GTPDCL).
Such is the development of Gujarat Tourism that Egyptian Tourism has joined hands with the state for understanding the tourism development in the western state and in India.