Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], 27 September (ANI): The Government of Gujarat is celebrating 2026-27 as ‘Gujarat Tourism Year’. As part of this initiative, World Tourism Day was celebrated on Sunday at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.
During the programme, DyCM announced that ‘HYROX’, a fast-growing global sports event, will be held in Gandhinagar from November 26 to 28. More than 10,000 tourists, including over 1,000 foreign athletes, are expected to participate, as per a release.
"On behalf of the youth and all citizens of Gujarat, I welcome HYROX to the state for the event scheduled from November 26 to 28 in Gandhinagar. Gujarat is set to become a new home for HYROX. The state government is making comprehensive arrangements, including entertainment and cultural programs, to ensure a great experience for all the participating athletes. I welcome athletes arriving from across the country and the world to Gujarat. We are striving to make this a historic HYROX event. The state government has coordinated closely with Team HYROX India to manage logistics for the more than 10,000 athletes expected to participate. While HYROX events have previously been held in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, we are working together to ensure that Gujarat becomes a favourite destination for all athletes," Harsh Sanghavi told the reporters.
The Tourism Corporation will also organise a special ‘Bhajan Clubbing’ programme for the athletes in the evening. He also announced that an Ironman/Half-Ironman event will be held in Ahmedabad on February 14, further promoting Gujarat as a global destination for sports tourism.
Minister of State for Tourism Jayrambhai Gamit was also present at the event organised by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. During the programme, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi unveiled the official logo of ‘Gujarat Tourism Year’.
On this occasion, DyCM said that all tourism stakeholders must work together to provide the best facilities and memorable experiences to tourists from India and abroad. He urged hotels, restaurants, tour operators and taxi-rickshaw drivers to focus on ‘Cleanliness’, ‘Health’ and ‘Soft Spoken Skills’ to boost Gujarat’s tourism sector. He assured that the Government will provide all necessary support.
Along with major development works at religious and spiritual destinations such as Somnath, Ambaji, Pavagadh and Dwarka, maintaining cleanliness and civic responsibility at the local level is equally important. He said this can bring a positive social change. He also stressed that every cultural programme and festival should be connected with tourism.
To create more jobs in tourism, religious destinations such as Ambaji, Somnath, Dwarka and Pavagadh are being developed with modern facilities. Under the new Homestay Policy, 100 selected villages will get modern homestays that preserve their traditional character.
The State Government will also consider providing gap funding to tour operators, based on representations received, to attract foreign tourists to festivals such as Kawant Holi, Uttarayan and Navratri, as well as eco-tourism destinations like Dharoi Water Reservoir and Shivrajpur.
The State Government is ready to provide policies, training and gap funding to support the tourism industry. The Minister urged tour operators not to rely only on the Government, but to create attractive tour packages around unique festivals such as Navratri, the Kite Festival and Kawant Holi in Chhota Udepur to attract foreign tourists. He said the Government is also focusing on skill development, promoting homestays and improving hygiene facilities in rural and tribal areas. More than 1,000 new tour guides will also be trained to create employment opportunities.
To promote cinematic tourism and showcase Gujarat as a film destination, DyCM launched the ‘Gujarat Film Shooting Permission Portal’. The single-window digital portal will make the process of getting permissions and NOCs for film shooting easier, faster and more transparent.
Additionally, 8 MoUs were signed in sports, technology, skill training and education to strengthen Gujarat’s tourism ecosystem. These include partnerships with HYROX/Ironman for sports tourism, BookMyShow for digital ticketing, and Kutch University, Ahmedabad Management Association, SVNIT, Kaushalya – The Skill University, Tata Community Initiatives Trust (Tata STRIVE) and EDII for skill development.
During the programme, Gir Somnath homestay operator Shri Parth Hadia and Kutch tourist guide Shri Ketan Giri Goswami shared their success stories. Several homestay operators and tour guides from across the state were also honoured as ‘Tourism Champions’.
A high-level panel discussion on ‘Hospitality, MICE & Investment’ was also held during the ceremony. Artisans from the state gave live demonstrations of Meenakari, woodcraft and Agate stone craftsmanship.
At the beginning of the programme, Tourism Secretary Kuldeep Arya welcomed the guests and gave an overview of the programme.
The event was attended by Managing Director of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Vipin Garg, Member Secretary of the Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board Ramesh Merja, senior officials, industry leaders, tourism stakeholders, hoteliers and tour operators. (ANI)
Global fitness events ‘HYROX’ in Gandhinagar and ‘Ironman/Half-Ironman’ in Ahmedabad to be organized: DyCM Harsh Sanghavi
