Gujarat bets on Modi's Varanasi link for tourist inflow from UP

Seeking to leverage Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Uttar Pradesh connection after his election from Varanasi parliamentary constituency, Gujarat Tourism is eyeing increased inflow of tourists from the state.

Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) has now opened its maiden office in UP at Lucknow to proactively reach out to tourists from the region. At present, tourist inflow from UP is still quite low compared to total tourists. UP and Bihar collectively account for about a million backpackers to Gujarat compared to total tourist inflow of almost 29 million. This figure pertains only to leisure travel and excludes business and medical tourism data.

"The election of Mr Modi from UP has definitely helped in increasing awareness and interest regarding Gujarat as a tourism destination," TCGL chairman Kamlesh Patel told Business Standard here.

Since, there is no direct flight between UP and Gujarat, he said the issue had been discussed at appropriate forums and once there was sufficient traffic flow, the airline companies would themselves launch air services between the two states. He said after making significant progress in the industrial and agricultural sectors, the Gujarat government was keen to develop tourism as the services sector entity.

"We will continue to aggressively market Gujarat as a tourist destination in India and abroad. To strengthen these efforts, we have introduced a PPP model whereby tour operators can register with TCGL through its website. They can also showcase their own packages on the website," he informed, while adding thatduring 2005-06, TCGL had posted losses, but in 2012-13, the Corporation clocked profits of about Rs 50 crore.