Gujarat Government is considering the development of Dhordo and Hadko villages as heritage sites in Kutch district as part of its efforts to market the annual 'Ranotsav' (desert festival) as a global event to attract tourists, officials said today.
Opening the festival on Tuesday, Chief Minister Narendra Modi had emphasised on developing 'Ranotsav' as a global destination which will help in providing jobs to youths and augment income of local small traders and businesses.
"A whopping USD 3 trillion is spent on tourism the world over. In this backdrop efforts should be made for the further development of tourism in the state," he had said. Talking to PTI by phone, M Thenrsan, Kutch District Collector, said "for the first time diplomats from 19 countries, including Austria, Peru, Israel and Bangladesh, attended the festival. Vipul Mitra, Secretary, State Tourism Department, said besides developing Dhordo and Hadko as heritage villages, efforts will be made to promote the Kutch region bordering Pakistan as 'the white desert area'. Help from the industries will be sought to develop it under PPP (public private partnership), he said.
Kamlesh Patel, Chairman, Gujarat Tourism Corporation, said required infrastructure facilities would be put in place in Kutch to attract global tourists.