Gandhinagar, 12 June, 2013

Gujarat’s emergence as a favorite tourist destination for Indian as well as foreign travelers has been acknowledged by the Lonely Planet International, the world’s largest travel publishing house, as the state was selected for the ‘Lonely Planet Magazine India Travel Awards 2013’ under the category of “Best Emerging Destination (Indian)”. Bollywood star John Abraham presented the award to Shri Vipul Mittra, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Civil Aviation & Pilgrimage, Government of Gujarat, at a grand function held on recently at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai.

Commenting after receiving the award, Shri Mittra said, “Be it heritage tourism or new-age destinations, religious places or sites for adventures sports, Gujarat has a complete spectrum of tourist destination and this award comes as a testimony to this fact. The award also indicates that the government’s effort to develop infrastructural facilities in line with the demand of the tourism industry is producing desired results.”

Gujarat was selected for the honor under the second edition of the awards, after awardees were selected by a panel of well-known travel experts and professionals and LPMI readers, who voted both online and in the magazine.