The Gujarat government's Tourism Department has been decorated with the annual award of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) for being the country's best tourism department for 2011.
The award was presented by the Union Tourism Minister, Mr Subhodh Kant Sahai, to Mr Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Civil Aviation and Pilgrimage, Government of Gujarat, in Mumbai, an official release said here on Wednesday.
Gujarat scored over other nominees Kerala and Madhya Pradesh for the annual award. Gujarat tourism has grown by 14 per cent, twice that of national growth rate, over the next few years.
One of the reasons for such growth rates is the ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki' campaign by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is brand ambassador for Gujarat Tourism, Mr Mitra said.
The campaign will be launched globally in the first week of January 2012.
The State government expects two crore tourists next year, including four lakh foreign visitors. The tourism department has spent around Rs 2 crore to promote the Rann Utsav celebrated in the month of December, 2011. Gujarat Tourism annually spends Rs 50 crore on marketing.