Gujarat recent TVC and Radio Ads where our seasoned wise-man Big B encourages all to "breathe in a bit of Gujarat" (kuch din toh gujaro Gujarat mein) has set ripples. Tourist Traffic is up by 40-50 per cent in all the six featured destinations of Gujarat viz. Ahemdabad, Porbander, Gir, Dwaraka, Somanth and Kutch. Furthermore, the inspiration is such that many private investors are all set to "breathe in and breathe out an entire lifetime in Gujarat" (zindagi gujaro Gujarat mein :)). See my recent news skimmings from Times Of India and T3 travel Magazine ..
"Tata to re-open its decade closed 29-room 'Gir Lodge' with its brand 'Gateway'...Gujarat Governement in association with IBM planning 'Little Africa' manned by African-origin Sidi community of the Saurashtra...Club Mahindra agreement with the promoters of Wonderland Resort...Gujarati realty firms Koetcha, Popular, Sanjayraj and may be more growing or diversifying to develop luxury resorts and are getting the ground work done via land acquisition...at all the featured places in the commercials land prices are rising vertically from 3 lacs to 20 lacs per bigha esp around Gir...3-day Rann Utsav extended to 30-days and it was a sold out within the 5-days of bookings...Dwaraka and Somnath were house full during Diwali. The arrivals pushed the governement to open a 50-room accommodation...Rs 50 crore to bolster accommodation in Dwarka...Shahrukh and Ekta Kapoor vying for land around Sasan Gir National Park, the Lion's territory to add little more spice from Bollywood..."
First hurdle crossed successfully. Tourism Gujarat nearing UNAWARENESS - courtesy a simplistic yet effective creative communication from O&M, no surprise. Credible words of Amitabh Ji, no surprise. And a determined initiator Narendra Modi, Gujarat's CM, again no surprise considering his involvement for the state he vowed for.
"When we took the assignment, Narendra Modi himself did all the briefing with great intensity and fervour. The comprehensive briefing and his insistence to visit Gujarat before starting the assignment made our work easier. Also, a lot of lines used by us for promotion of Gujarat tourism have been picked up from Mr. Modi's briefing." [said Piyush Pandey, Creative Director, O&M. read discovered-gujarat-khushbu-guj-ki]
Second hurdle which will alternate with the rising infrastructure is the right packaging. Tour to Gujarat either clubbed with other Indian destinations or exclusively Gujarat is for the TATOs (Travel Agents and Tour Operators) to work or rework out. As a tour operator headquartered in Rajasthan Ashoka Holidays is happier, for even we seek interesting add-ons or alternatives to traditional show stoppers of Inbound attractions Rajasthan, along with the cliched Golden triangle, Varanasi, Maharashtra and Kerala and few more.
Gearing for the rising tourist footfalls the land of Gujarat is busy. But as of now its sky is busier. Uttrayan, the Harvest festival on the 14th of January 2011. That for the kitists means International Kite festival when "more than 80 kitists, from 31 different nations, hundreds of Indian kitist, and thousands of just-viewers and admirers" will take over from the firmament. And for tourists fond of culture, well, you have a Gujarati phenomenon woven around the spool and the kites, kites and more kites. Just be there and watch for it is Colorful Vibrant Gujarat Holidays in the making.
check two international-kite-festival-suggested-holidays There is more to this January. Watch showcase of Indian dance heritage @mamallapuram-dance-festival Camel at its best @ bikner-camel-festival
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