Tourism Secretary, Rajender Kumar, ET TravelWorld

Heritage Tourism Association (HHA) of Gujarat, in consultation with the state tourism department, has rolled out 6 different thematic itineraries of the state under the ‘Pahle Dekho Gujarat’ campaign. The itineraries designed after in-depth deliberations and discussions among expert stakeholders and active participation of FTOs were launched at a B2B travel exhibition of boutique hotels called Très 2025 in Delhi last week.

According to HHA leadership, these curated itineraries are under themes like Historical treasures of Gujarat, Royal Gujarat, Wild Gujarat, Artisanal Gujarat, Tribal Cultures & Traditions of Gujarat, and Vegan Gujarat and comprise tours of duration from 9 nights/10 days to a fortnight. While India had around 520 princely states at the time of independence, Gujarat alone had over 220 of them, and these itineraries cover all these heritages. A London-based traveller travelled the length and breadth of the state before curating these itineraries, and informed top leadership of HHA.

Present at the launch of these unique itineraries, Rajendera Kumar, senior bureaucrat who heads tourism, civil aviation, devasthanam management, industries and mines as secretary in Gujarat, said that the state has a 360-degree approach to tourism development and wanted to use tourism as a vital tool for both employment creation and heritage conservation.

He said that the focus was towards developing and promoting new iconic destinations and preserving the traditional products and destinations.

The two iconic destinations which have already established their places are the Rann of Kutch and the Statue of Unity. Rann Utsav this year had record footfalls of over 1 million visitors, Kumar said. “It’s a CAGR growth of 45 per cent,” he informed. Rann Utsav this year was completely plastic free and presented a sustainable model despite the record footfall, he informed.

Similarly, the Statue of Unity, another iconic site, had over 5 million visitors, he claimed. State tourism is also in the process of developing a few other sites associated with archaeology, heritage and adventure of the state into iconic destinations status.

Dharoi, a dam site on the Aravalis between Ahmedabad and Udaipur, is one such site that the state is developing into a world-class adventure destination. Kumar said that the state is creating the trunk infrastructure so that the private investors can come and invest in creating an adventure tourism ecosystem around it.

“It will be a one of its kind adventure tourism destination in the country. We have the same strategy and plan as in the Statue of Unity at Dharoi,” said Kumar. He said that the state has already invested over Rs 800 cr in the trunk infrastructure.

Lothal National Maritime Museum is another major iconic destination development that Gujarat tourism is pinning high hopes on. The Lothal maritime museum complex, which will house the world’s tallest Lighthouse Museum, Asia’s biggest underwater marine museum and India’s grandest naval museum, is expected to be ready by September this year and will be a big draw. A central government project, the complex is built at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 cr.

The Vadnagar Experiential Museum, which was dedicated to the nation early this year,r has many distinctions and is best in class among the world’s archaeological museums, Kumar said.

Dholavira, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Nadabet, a border post on the India-Pakistan border, are also being developed to the status of iconic sites by improving connectivity and accessibility, Kumar said.

“Efforts are being made to create new core and trunk infrastructure, including airports and heliports in high footfall destinations like Ambaji, Somnath and Dwarka,” he said.

On wildlife tourism, Gujarat has unparalleled treasures in Gir, Little Rann of Kutch, Jamnagar, etc. Narara Marine Natural Park in Jamnagar is one of its kind marine parks in the country and in the whole world. Gir is the only place in the world where Asiatic lions are found in the wild. The Blackbuck National Sanctuary in Bhavnagar, the wolf breeding and rehabilitation centre in Nadabet, are unique to Gujarat, Kumar said.

He also spoke about the first and only blue flag beach in India at Shivrajpur, which can provide an unparalleled beach experience to people, making Gujarat a 360-degree destination.