On Saturday, a motley crowd watched in awe as a presentation unfolded before it portraying the rich culture and heritage of the picturesque state of Gujarat. The presentation was a part of a special Road Show organised by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) at Indore in Madhya Pradesh to promote Gujarat as a splendid tourist destination.
The audience mainly consisted of travel agents from Madhya Pradeshwith whom TCGL is looking at forging ties to showcase the best of Gujarat to the people of Madhya Pradesh. Shri. Jenu Devan, Managing Director and Commissioner of Tourism, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited took the travel agents through the presentation that elucidated the eclectic offerings of Gujarat in terms of its culture, traditions, music, tourist spots, its treasure trove of artefacts and handicrafts and much more. This is the first time that Gujarat is visiting Madhya Pradesh and is looking at building a bond with the latter by inviting its people over to visit and experience the state’s inimitable tourism. The idea of inviting travel agents for the Road Show was to join hands with them and leverage the relations to carry out diverse exchanges between the two states.
Talking about the unique Road Show,Shri Devan, said, “We are extremely happy to be in Madhya Pradesh and connect with the people here. This is the first time Gujarat is visiting MP but we are hoping that we will be able to build long lasting relations between the two states. I would like to invite the people from Madhya Pradesh to witness and enjoy the beauty of Gujarat, its cuisines, its art and culture, tourist spots, its many fairs and festivals and everything else that the state has to offer. This Road Show is mainly to reach out to travel agents here and work out opportunities to promote Gujarat tourism. Together we can build some excellent exchange between the two states.”Hordes of tourists from Madhya Pradesh are known to visit Gujarat every year. This year, the number of tourists from Madhya Pradesh was a whopping 18 lakh and the figure is expected to grow exponentially.
In fact, in recent years,Gujarat has become one of the most popular destinations in India.Over 400 lakh tourists visited the state from within India this year –a 17% rise from the previous year. Similarly, a record number of NRIs and foreigners –a total of 10 lakh – visited the state this year making it the highest number in the last decade. Gujarat’s versatile fairs and festivals are already known to be huge crowd pullers. The annual Saputaramonsoon festival (13 August to 10 September,2017),Tarnetar fair (24 to 27August, 2017), Navratri Festival (21 to 29 September 2017), the Rann Utsav (1st November, 2017 to 28th February, 2018)and the International kite festival (7 to 15January, 2018)are some of the many colourful events that draw tourists from across India and abroad.The state government gives tourists the chance to experience local culture at its best by offering the most earthyaccommodationoption – that of homestays. Homestays are known to provide the comfort of a home with all the facilities and anopportunity to eat authenticlocal food and interact with incredible locals. Besides, there are also several luxury hotels in the state that provideace hospitality services.