Panaji: Gujarat tourism expects Statue of Unity to propel its year-on-year tourism growth touching the figure of 7.5 crore from existing five crore annually by 2020, a senior official said.
Statue of Unity located between the Vindhyachal and Satpuda ranges rising weir Narmada River was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, this year.
“Last five years, Gujarat tourism has been witnessing Year-on-Year growth of seventeen percent in the footfalls with the total count of tourists touching five crore figure during the last year,” Sanatan Pancholi, Manager, Gujarat Tourism, told reporters here on Wednesday.
He said that with the addition of Statue of Unity and other tourist attractions, the coastal State will touch 7.5 crore footfalls by the year 2020, considering the marketing campaigns in the domestic sector launched by the State government.
“The Statue of Unity has been visited by around two lakh visitors, since it’s launching. The most of the visitors were domestic travelers,” he added.
“There is a curiosity and pride moment for ever Indian to see something like this (Statue of Unity) in our country,” Pancholi said.
The officer said that Statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would be an added attraction for the tourists who flock the state for its various tourist attractions including Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan, Wall of Unity, Museums amongst others.
He said that the Gujarat tourism will never attain a saturation point because of the versatile tourist attractions it has been offering to the visitors.
Pancholi said that the Statue of Unity is a part of destination tourism, which would be extensively marketed in the foreign countries alike in the domestic segment.
“Gujarat tourism is concentrating on domestic market and it is working wonderful for us. The foreign component visiting Statue of Unity is not much,” he said.
“But we have started getting inquiries from our inbound suppliers who are getting people to Gujarat. They have started inquiring with us, and on that basis we can start getting foreign tourists also,” he added.
Pancholi said that the efforts by then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in the year 2006 to promote the State as a tourist destination are fetching the results. He attributed the growth to the marketing by the state government and also campaign launched along with Actor Amitabh Bachchan.
