Punjab may replicate Ahmedabad heritage walk

The heritage walk programme in the older city of Ahmedabad, a pioneering initiative launched by Gujarat government for promotion of the tourism industry in the state, is likely to be replicated in Punjab. Having been acknowledged as an effective tool for promoting tourism, the Punjab Government may adopt this initiative in Amritsar and Patiala in due course of time.

“I went for the heritage walk in the old city of Ahmedabad today morning and it was really an exciting experience. We will also consider to launch similar initiative in the cities of Amritsar and Patiala for promotion of Punjab’s heritage and culture,” said Hussan Lal, special secretary tourism / member secretary, Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board. Lal was the chief guest of Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF), which concluded at the Gujarat University Exhibition Hall in Ahmedabad today.

In another development, a visitor survey conducted at the fair revealed that a major chunk of the Gujarati community is now more interested in travelling other countries rather than visiting domestic tourist destinations and that too with a comparatively high average budget of around '80,000.

Sanjiv Agarwal, chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd, organiser of TTF said, “The survey revealed that one-third of the respondents were interested in traveling abroad with an average budget of '80,000, whereas two-thirds were looking for destinations within the country with average spending limit of around '18,000. The survey further stated that 71 per cent of the respondents traveled at least once in a year, out of which 39 per cent traveled twice, indicating the propensity of Gujaratis for traveling. It is beyond doubt that TTF is emerging as a perfect tool for selection of perfect destination, since 48 per cent of the visitors were repeat visitors.”

TTF witnessed 15,000 visitors attending the three-day exhibition, up from 12,000 last year. The number of exhibitors at Ahmedabad also went up from 250 last year to over 300 this year. Adel Masry, Director, Egyptian Tourist Office, India, said, “India is one of the top tourist markets for travel industry in Egypt. Apart from the culture tourism, Egypt now also offers some other kind of tourism such as marine tourism & wellness tourism.”

Currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary, TTF is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), and other similar trade bodies. With the conclusion of the Ahmedabad TTF, the event now moves to Surat during 27–29 August. In the first quarter of 2011, TTF travels to Chennai and Bangalore (January 2011) and Mumbai and New Delhi (February 2011).