New Year's treat: Tourists flock to Diu's balmy beaches, White Rann

AHMEDABAD: As a few days are left and the countdown has begun for the New Year, Gujarat is bustling with tourists in large numbers. From Kutch to Diu, thousands of tourists from different parts of India and abroad have descended to make the most of Rann Utsav and Festa De Diu (international beach festival of Diu).
Tour operators and administration have recorded a surge of 30%-70% in number of tourists for these two festivals in comparison to footfalls last year.
Rann Utsav, which kicked off in November this year, has seen over 35,000 tourists in the tent city itself till the last week of December. This is an increase of 30% in comparison to the last year. “Barring the week when National DG meet was held, we saw 70%-72% average occupancy of the 350 tents that have been set up for the festival. In the run up to New Year, all the tents have been booked till January 4 next year,“ said Manish Sharma managing director, Akshar Travels, which is handling the marketing and sales of Rann Utsav. The total number of tents at Rann Utsav is around 400. For the first time, the three-month long Rann Utsav is also playing host to newly-weds for their honeymoon this year. The organizers have not only set up around 15 separate tents, but are also making special arrangements for the couples -from a chauffeur driven car to de signated area for full moon viewing in White Rann.
In case of Diu, the tourist movement has recorded a jump of almost 100%, thanks to 75-day long beach festival Festa De Diu which was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on December 1.Diu collector Vinod Kavle said, “Last year December around 2.7 lakh tourists had visited Diu. This year, we expect the numbers to cross 4.5 lakh mark. The festival is not only attracting beach lovers, but for the first time we are also seeing a surge in tourists from north India as well as Gujarat.“ “We are expecting the tourists' movement to cross eight lakh by the end of festival in mid-February , almost double than the last season,“ Kavle added.
This is for the first time that two large scale tourism festivals are being held in the state simultaneously . Tour operators and travel agents believe that instead of eating into each other's share, these two festivals are actually bringing in more tourists.