Dehradun/Ahmedabad: Officials from the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board along with key travel trade players from the state met with the travel trade fraternity of Ahmedabad today to discuss and explore possibilities to work together in furthering tourism between the two states.
Held at The Hyatt in Ahmedabad, the event also saw attendance from prospective investors from Ahmedabad who interacted with key Uttarakhand government and tourism board officials.
The primary objective of this event was to engage with the investors and showcase what the state has to offer by way of investment opportunities and tourism potential of the state. Simultaneously it was also an occasion where the travel trade fraternity from Uttarakhand got to interact with their counterparts from Ahmedabad to better understand the needs and demands of prospective tourists from Gujarat.
Led by Shri Sachin Kurve, Secretary Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand, other representatives of UTDB included Shri Sumit Pant, Director (Marketing & Publicity) and Shri Kamal Kishore Joshi, Public Relations Officer.
At the meeting, Mr. Kurve apprised the Gujarat investors of various tourist sites in Uttarakhand and land banks where there is tremendous investment potential. The investors present at the meeting also expressed their desire to invest in Uttarakhand.
According to Mr. Sachin Kurve, Secretary Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand, ”Tourism is a major industry and a significant contributor to the state’s GDP, while at the same time employing a sizeable chunk of the state’s working population. Gujarat, among the top five states contributing to inbound tourists into Uttarakhand, has a share of ~10 per cent as per recorded estimates. It has also been noticed as per recorded data, more than 1/3rd of the inbound tourists into Uttarakhand are females, which goes to show that it is a safe state for women. The bulk of the inbound tourists prefer to travel in group/s, either with their family or friends.”
Mr. Kurve further added, “The state of Uttarakhand has a lot to offer including experiences and activities like river rafting in the Ganges, trekking in the hills, skiing through some of the picturesque slopes in Auli, enjoying a cable car ride and/or soaking in the views of the majestic Himalayas. Rishikesh in Uttarakhand also happens to be the ‘yoga’ capital of the world. We’re hosting the International Yoga Festival from 1st -7th March 2023. The state government is running a scheme under which the tour operators will be incentivized with Rs.10,000 up to a maximum of Rs. 5 lakhs for bringing in foreign tourists to the ‘Yoga’ festival”.
He also told, “The government has recently started a helicopter service to offer Himalaya Darshan from George Everest in Mussoorie, as well as proposals to launch Breakfast Tourism or Flying Picnic as part of another tourist activity. Using Flying Picnic, tourists can fly from Mussoorie to nearby tourist attractions where they can have breakfast in restaurants and also enjoy and capture the beautiful valleys and landscapes. The tourism department has made full preparation in this regard and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests”.
He further informed, “The state government is planning to illuminate heritage tourist sites like Kasar Devi Temple, Katarmal Sun Temple and Banasur Fort, etc. to improve the aesthetics of these places”.
The event was attended by over 20 key travel trade businesses from Uttarakhand, who interacted with around 50 major players from the city’s travel trade community. The attendees also had to enjoy cultural festivities reminiscent of Uttarakhand and cuisines from the state.
Uttarakhand is targeting 70 million domestic tourists in the next couple of years from its current estimated 35+ million, and this calls for major infrastructure developments. Towards this end, the state is undergoing rapid development to improve facilities for the tourists, which includes among other things, redevelopment work at pilgrimage sites, opening up of homestays, adding hotel rooms, improving roads and highways, setting up of new airports and etc. The state is seeking investors from Gujarat to come and partake in this growth process by partnering in these development projects.
According to the officials present, it is expected that this activity will help catalyze inbound tourism from Gujarat into Uttarakhand, with more and more tourists visiting the state for its varied experiences and also to explore new destinations.
This is the first major exercise to reach out to prospective tourists from Gujarat and more such marketing initiatives are planned in the coming months.
