Growth rate of tourism industry in Gujarat at 18 pc today: Minister

State Tourism Minister Mulu Bera Saturday said that the tourism industry in Gujarat has reached a growth rate of 18 per cent today compared to pre-2002 when it was “at the bottom”.

Speaking at the Tourism Conclave at the Pramukh Swami Shatabdi Mahotsav Bera credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership under which “tourism opened new dimensions”.

Modi took charge as chief minister of Gujarat in October 2001. He listed Rannutsav, Sasan Gir, Nada Bet, Statue of Unity as giving a new identity to Gujarat in the tourism sector.

“With the Girnar ropeway and Shivrajpur beach (Gujarat’s only blue flag accredited beach) Gujarat tourism has got an impetus. Along with developing new tourist destinations, Gujarat has successfully attracted foreign tourists… Before 2002 the growth in the sector was at the bottom, which has reached 18 percent today,” a government release quoted Bera as saying.