Gujarat to leverage Modi's UP connection to boost tourist inflow

The state's tourism department has now opened its maiden office in Lucknow

Seeking to leverage Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Uttar Pradesh connection after his election from Varanasi, Gujarat Tourism is eyeing increased inflow of tourists from the state.

Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) has now opened its maiden office in in Lucknow to proactively reach out to tourists from the region.

Currently, tourist inflow from Uttar Pradesh is still quite low compared with total tourists. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar collectively account for about a million backpackers to Gujarat compared with total tourist inflows of almost 29 million. This figure pertains only to leisure travel and excludes business and medical tourism data.

“The election of Modi from Uttar Pradesh has definitely helped increase awareness and interest regarding Gujarat as a tourism destination,” TCGL chairman Kamlesh Patel told Business Standard here.

Since, there is no direct flight between Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, he said the issue had been discussed at appropriate forums and once there was sufficient traffic flow, the airline companies would themselves launch air services between the two states.

He said after making significant progress in the industrial and agricultural sectors, the Gujarat government was keen to develop tourism as the services sector entity.

“We will continue to aggressively market Gujarat as a tourist destination in India and abroad. To strengthen these efforts, we have introduced a PPP (public-private partnership) model whereby tour operators can register with TCGL through its website. They can also showcase their own packages on the website,” he said.

To showcase incremental growth in tourism, he said during 2005-06, TCGL had posted losses, but in 2012-13, the corporation clocked profits of about Rs 50 crore.

“To improve tourism infrastructure in Gujarat, the state has allocated about Rs 550 crore.” Patel said.

He further said Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan had helped brand Gujarat as an ideal tourist destination.