Ahmedabad The Gujarat government is celebrating Development Week from October 7 to 15 on the completion of 23 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the first time, who laid the foundation of development in Gujarat. Under the able leadership of Narendra Modi as Chief Minister, Gujarat has made remarkable progress in all sectors, with the success of the tourism industry attracting the attention of the entire world. Due to the development work done by Modi for tourism and travel destinations as the then Chief Minister, today Gujarat is shining on the world tourism map.
Two decades ago, Gujarat had no name in the tourism sector, whereas today Gujarat has become a favorite state for tourists from all over the world. In the year 2003-04, only 61.5 lakh tourists came to the state, whose number crossed 14 crore in the year 2022-23. These include more than 22 lakh foreign tourists. Not only this; In the year 2001-02, the budget of the Tourism Department was only Rs 12 crore, which has increased to Rs 1620.06 crore in the year 2024-25.
Narendra Modi understood the importance of White Rann (Desert) in Kutch from tourism point of view and started ‘Ranotsav’ in the year 2005. Ranotsav, which started as just a 3-day festival, has today transformed into a 4-month long event. International Kite Festival was started to attract people from India and abroad towards the popular Uttarayan festival of Gujarat. Kankaria Carnival is celebrated every year since 2009 in the Kankaria Pond complex located in Ahmedabad. moreover; The number of tourists has also increased due to the Tana-Riri Mahotsav in memory of the sisters of Vadnagar, the latter festival highlighting the Indian dance culture in the Sun Temple complex at Modhera, while the organization of Vibrant Gujarat Navratri Mahotsav has increased the Navratri festival of Gujarat and Garba has become famous globally.
To pay tribute to the Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the creator of united India, with the vision of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the world’s tallest statue ‘Statue of Unity’ (SOU), 182 meters tall, has been constructed in Kevadiya of Narmada district in Gujarat. . Various tourist attractions including Jungle Safari Park, Children Nutrition Park, Arogya Forest, Valley of Flowers, Ekta Mall, Ekta Nursery, Miyawaki Forest and Maze Garden have been developed in the area around SOU. By constructing a railway station in Kevadiya, tourists have been provided easy connectivity for transportation. Kevadiya is being developed as Total Tourism Development by the State Government.
Smriti Van was created in Kutch in memory of the victims of the devastating earthquake on January 26, 2001. In memory of the children and teachers who were buried under the debris in Anjar city during the Kutch earthquake, a Veer Bal Smarak has been prepared outside Anjar city, which is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2022.
With the objective of giving impetus to the tourism sector in Gujarat, ‘Gujarat Tourism Policy’ and ‘Heritage Tourism Policy’ were implemented with the objective of promoting the historical heritage buildings and sites of the state as heritage tourism destinations. Similarly; Tourists from India and abroad should be aware of the culture and tradition of Gujarat and can enjoy the taste of Gujarati cuisine; For this purpose, the state government has also implemented ‘Gujarat Home Stay Policy’. The important thing is that the increase in the number of tourists in Gujarat has created employment opportunities for the local people. Other than this; Gujarat has a rich tradition of handicrafts, to promote which the handicrafts artisans of the state are provided a suitable platform for selling their artefacts by setting up stalls of handicraft products in various programs of the Tourism Department, where the artisans can showcase the products made by them. -Become financially self-reliant by selling products.
In the last 23 years, Ranki Vava (Queen’s Stepwell) located in Patan, Dholavira, Ahmedabad city and Champaner have been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Dhordo village of Kutch has been declared ‘Best Tourism Village’ by the United Nations agency World Tourism Organization. Garba of Gujarat has been included in the list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ by UNESCO. Shivrajpur Beach located in Dwarka has been ranked among the ‘Blue Flag Beaches’. Bhuj’s Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial and Museum has been included in the list of 7 most beautiful museums of the world under UNESCO’s Prix Versailles Award.
Asia’s largest Girnar Ropeway was constructed at Girnar in Junagadh, allowing devotees; Mataji’s darshan has become accessible especially to the senior citizens. 51 Shaktipeeths have been constructed in the world famous Yatradham Ambaji of Gujarat. Lakhs of devotees coming to visit Adyashakti Dham are now getting the benefit of darshan of all 51 Shaktipeeths together at one place. After 500 years, the flag has been hoisted on the golden peak at the newly constructed temple of Maa Kalika in Pavagadh. A circuit house with facilities for tourists has been constructed in the first Jyotirlinga Somnath Mahadev Temple located on the sea coast of Saurashtra. Under Prasad Yojana, many development works are being done for the facilities of the pilgrims in Somnath Dham. GSRTC has connected various travel destinations by introducing new types of services including sleeper coaches, AC coaches and top class luxury coaches for long distance travel. The work of installing solar rooftops is being done in various pilgrimage centers of the state.
To promote the ‘Sindhu Darshan Yatra’ which gives a glimpse of the unity of India’s diverse culture, the state government is providing financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to the travelers of Gujarat going on the Sindhu Darshan Yatra. Shravan Teerth Darshan Scheme is being run by the state government to enable the senior citizens of Gujarat to visit pilgrimage places.