Gujarat has seen a 400 per cent increase in tourist inflow into the Kutch region after it made megastar Amitabh Bachchan the State's brand ambassador for tourism.
The State Tourism advertisement campaign ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki', featuring Mr Bachchan, on Wednesday took another lead in being the first of its kind in the country to ride on Delhi Metro in an attempt to showcase diversity of Gujarat in its entirety.
Mr Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary, Tourism, and Mr Sanjay Kaul, Commissioner of Tourism & Managing Director, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TGCL), jointly flagged off the branded train at the Delhi Metro Airport Express Line, which is operated by the ADAG group.
The Gujarat Tourism is branding an entire Delhi Metro train for three months to promote its campaign. The highlights of the campaign are branded in both the outer body and insides of the Metro train.
Mr Mitra said that no other State tourism board has roped in the services of the Delhi Metro so far.
The Khushboo campaign is now two-and-a-half years old and since its launch, the rate of growth of tourism in Gujarat has doubled as compared to the national growth rate. With a 400 per cent rise in tourist arrivals to the Kutch region this year, more than two crore travellers are expected to visit the State.
The year 2012 has brought in international accolades for Gujarat which has been ranked as the third best unsung tourist destination of the world by “Lonely Planet.”