Gujarat to privatise heritage hotels

Tourism Corporation of Gujarat launches first travel and tourism portal

The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) is taking new strides in the promotion of tourism in the state.

Not only has the tourism body collaborated with reachgujarat.com, the internal portal, its decision to allow privatisation of its heritage hotel properties is creating a buzz in national as well as international circles.

reachgujarat.com, the online portal is reportedly the first online travel and tourism portal exclusively on Gujarat and plans to tie up with railways, banks, hotels and corporates for providing centralised reservations for airlines, hotel rooms, car rentals, tour packages among others.

"Through the e-commerce initiative, tourists from across the world can send their queries, book reservations and get more information on the state through SMS, through our call centre or through the website which offers payment gateway," said Ruzan Khambatta, managing director, reachgujarat.com.

The portal also has features like shopping of ethnic Gujarati wares, reverse auction, blogging and hotel/destination rating by travellers themselves.

The subscription rates, according to Khambatta would be around Rs 30,000 per year for hoteliers and Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for retailers who would like to advertise on the portal.

Talking about TCGL's plans for privatisation of hotel properties in the state, P D Vaghela, MD, TCGL said, "With the announcement of the decision to privatise the hotel properties, we have received numerous tenders from India as well as abroad. However, the process of awarding contracts has not yet begun."

With places like Dholavira, Bhuj, Khavda and Modhera attracting many tourists, the government is looking at upgrading infrastructural facilities.

"A project to build a road connecting Bhuj, Khavda and Dholavira at an estimated investment of Rs 145 crore has been given the go ahead. We also plan to install 'digital guides' which are recorded instructions and information of the heritage sites to be provided to the tourists through headphone," added Vaghela.

In association with the Forest department of the Gujarat government, TCGL has planned 23 new projects to promote eco-tourism especially in Nal Sarovar, Dangs and Ambardi near Amreli.