Gandhinagar, Sep 28 — Gujarat will promote modern homestay facilities in 100 selected villages across the state as part of its 'Gujarat Tourism Year 2026-27' initiative, with the government seeking to expand rural and community-based tourism while creating new employment opportunities.
The announcement was made on World Tourism Day at an event held at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, where Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi launched the official logo of Gujarat Tourism Year and the Gujarat Film Shooting Permission Portal.
Minister of State for Tourism, Jayram Gamit, also attended the programme organised by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd.
Under the new Homestay Policy, the selected villages will receive homestay facilities designed to retain their traditional character while providing modern amenities to visitors.
The government said it is also focusing on skill development and improved hygiene facilities in rural and tribal areas as part of its wider tourism strategy.
The state will train more than 1,000 additional tourist guides to create employment opportunities for young people.
The government will also consider providing gap funding to tour operators, based on representations received, to help attract international tourists to cultural festivals including Kawant Holi, Uttarayan and Navratri, as well as destinations such as Dharoi Water Reservoir and Shivrajpur.
Sanghavi called for collective efforts by all stakeholders in the tourism sector and urged hotels, restaurants, tour operators and taxi and rickshaw drivers to focus on cleanliness, health and soft-spoken skills to improve the experience of visitors.
"Development of religious and spiritual destinations such as Somnath, Ambaji, Pavagadh and Dwarka needed to be accompanied by cleanliness and civic responsibility at the local level," he said.
He also stressed the need to link cultural programmes and festivals with tourism. As part of efforts to promote sports tourism, Sanghavi announced that the global fitness event 'HYROX' 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. The Tourism Corporation will organise a special ‘Bhajan Clubbing’ programme for participating athletes in the evening.
"An Ironman/Half-Ironman event will also be held in Ahmedabad on February 14," he announced.
Sanghavi also launched the Gujarat Film Shooting Permission Portal, a single-window digital platform intended to simplify and speed up the process of obtaining permissions and no-objection certificates for film shoots in the state.
Eight MoUs were signed during the event covering sports, technology, education and skill development.
The partnerships include collaborations with HYROX/Ironman for sports tourism and BookMyShow for digital ticketing, besides agreements involving Kutch University, Ahmedabad Management Association, SVNIT, Kaushalya – The Skill University, Tata Community Initiatives Trust (Tata STRIVE) and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India for skill development and related initiatives.
Gamit urged tour operators to develop attractive packages around Gujarat's festivals, including Navratri, the Kite Festival and Kawant Holi in Chhota Udepur, rather than relying solely on government initiatives.
He said the government would support the sector through policies, training and gap funding. He also highlighted the need to promote homestays, improve hygiene facilities in rural and tribal areas and strengthen skill development to expand tourism-linked employment.
During the programme, Gir Somnath homestay operator Parth Hadia and Kutch tourist guide Ketan Giri Goswami shared their experiences.
Homestay operators and tourist guides from different parts of Gujarat were also felicitated as ‘Tourism Champions’.
A panel discussion on ‘Hospitality, MICE and Investment’ was held during the programme, while artisans demonstrated Meenakari, woodcraft and Agate stone craftsmanship.