According to Rajeev Kale, president and country head – holidays, MICE, visa, Thomas Cook India, “Gujarat continues to be a powerful driver of domestic travel and has seen a strong growth of 18 to 20 per cent year-on-year in terms of traffic. In the state, Ahmedabad has always been a key market for us.”
Gujarat is regarded as one of the most developed states of India, and a major hub for international business. The major contribution to its economy is by its commercial capital, Ahmedabad. Supported by tech-savvy infrastructure and a trade-friendly government, its highly educated and skilled workforce has helped the city emerge as a bustling metropolis.
In 2016, Ahmedabad was coined a ‘smart city’ by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, owing to its futuristic and sustainable development. Since then, the city has attracted significant investments, innovative startups and burgeoning industries such as textiles, chemicals, automobile and pharmaceuticals, among others. These have been growing substantially, lending Ahmedabad a strong industrial orientation.
Moreover, future-focused infrastructure projects, such as the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), Sabarmati Riverfront, the new Gandhinagar Railway Station, Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Ahmedabad Metro and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project (DMIC) are anticipated to further fuel business demand in the city in the medium to long term.
Experts say that an increase in economic activities like these as well as mega-events such as the Vibrant Gujarat Summit and improved air connectivity have led to the growth in corporate and leisure travel.
Startup buzz
As per a report by Nasscom and management consulting firm Zinnov, Ahmedabad has taken a leading position in the ‘emerging startup hubs’ in India (the regions with more than 20 funded startups are classified as emerging startup hubs). Some well-known startup names in the city include Beardo; Lendingkart, a fin-tech online platform; Let’s Recycle, a waste management solution company; and Axio, a MedTech company.
Air Connectivity
The international traffic at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport has increased substantially in recent years. According to Airports Authority of India (AAI) , the city airport saw around 1.4 million international travellers between April and October 2019, up 20 per cent against the same period in 2018.
Some popular international destinations connected from the city airport include Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, London, Bangkok, Jeddah, Kuwait and Doha. Domestic destinations like Jaipur, New Delhi, Chennai, Goa and Bengaluru are also gaining a lot of traction from Ahmedabad airport.
Adding to this, a number of airlines are launching more sectors or are looking at new direct international routes, and enchancing passengers’ experiences by deploying new aircraft. A case in a point is Singapore Airlines that has introduced its new generation A350-900 on the Ahmedabad-Singapore sector. It commenced on February 1. Starting with six-time weekly services on this new aircraft type, it will increase its frequency to daily operations from March 29.
Air travel is expected to grow more. Scheduled to be located at a distance of 100 km south west of Ahmedabad, Dholera International Airport is also on the horizon, owing to the expansion constraints at the current airport. The Airport will be a part of Dholera Special Investment Region (Dholera SIR) of Gujarat. Once fully operational, Dholera International Airport is likely to have an annual capacity of 50 million passengers. The first phase of the airport is said to be operational by 2024.
A Gift to India
The then Chief Minister Modi kicked off an ambitious project ‘Gujarat International Finance Tec-City’ in 2011 to develop it as a financial hub in the styles of Dubai and Singapore. Though this `700,000 million project has had a slow start, as per Z/Yen (a commercial think tank known for rankings of financial centres), GIFT ranks 66th and above Mumbai (72nd) in its September 2019 rankings for Global Financial Centres Index as reported by The Times of India.
There’s a lot of activity happening here. Recently, a provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, Refinitiv, signed an MoU with GIFT to promote and attract global investors to International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), a centre in the GIFT campus. Additionally, USA’s multinational investment bank and financial company, Bank of America has opened a Global Business Services Centre in IFSC, GIFT in January 2020; and Central Depository Services, India’s first listed depository also inaugurated its first Indian branch here.
Giving a major push to the IT and IT-enabled services sector in Gujarat, last year, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the set up of an IT hub in the campus too. All this will create a large number of businesses and service sector jobs in the state.
Hospitality biz
As per 2019 Indian Hospitality Trends and Opportunities report by Mumbai-based hospitality consulting firm Hotelivate, Ahmedabad’s hotel market has seen considerable growth in supply over the last five years. It has risen from 1,500 classified hotel rooms in 2014 to over 3,000 hotel rooms in 2018, ranging from upper-upscale to economy hotels. Around 2,000 branded hotel rooms are expected to open in the next few years, establishing Ahmedabad as one of the major hotel markets in India.
Currently, the city records an annual average occupancy of 63 per cent, with the market-wide average rate of approximately Rs4,000 a night. Since Ahmedabad is easily accessible from various neighbouring industrial districts like Sanand and Dholera, demand for accommodation is expected to keep pace with the increase in the supply of rooms. This is evident from the moderate increase in the occupancy and average rate per night in recent years.
Previously, Ahmedabad’s hospitality industry was dominated by local brands; however, in recent times, several branded hotels have entered the market and more are in the pipeline.
Recently, Accor has brought its premium brand to Gandhinagar with the launch of Grand Mercure Gandhinagar GIFT City. The nine-floor hotel, amidst GIFT, is built to cater to the demands of frequent travellers looking for quality stay options. Lokesh Sabharwal, vice president – development and special projects, south Asia, Accor said, “The Grand Mercure GIFT City supports the city’s vision to be a global financial and Information Technology hub. Gujarat is a pivotal state with growing infrastructure and overall development. We look forward to continued hotel development opportunities in the state.”
Alternative accommodation brands like Oyo are choosing Ahmedabad for its premium upmarket hotel segment as well. Oyo has partnered with Mountania Developers, a partner company that has acquired a 64-suite building near Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad.
Modernising rail travel: Tejas Express
IRCTC’s (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation’s) Tejas Express from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, India’s second private train, was flagged off on January 19, 2020. The train plies six days a week with Thursdays as off-days for maintenance activities. This fully air-conditioned train shall have two executive class chair cars having 56 seats each and eight chair cars having the capacity of 78 seats each. The total carrying capacity of the train will be 736 passengers. irctc.co.in
Must-visit spots:
There was much hullaballoo in 2017 when Ahmedabad beat Delhi, Mumbai and Varanasi in the bid to become India’s first UNESCO designated city. Mainly, because it raised the city to the ranks of Edinburgh, Paris, Brussels, Rome and Cairo in the global arena. This 600-year-old city’s finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and Hindu-Muslim arts were lauded by the UNESCO.
Here are some sites you must see on your trip to Gujarat:
- The House of MG, a centrally situated restored heritage hotel with an excellent rooftop restaurant serving delicious Gujarati thali.
- Adalaj Vav, an ancient step-well on the outskirts of the city; Rani Ki Vav, an ornate Hindu temple on the banks of the Pushpavati River.
- Sabarmati Ashram, the erstwhile home of Mahatma Gandhi, which is now a national monument.
- Sidi Bashir Mosque, famous for its shaking minarets
Watch out
To be ready by March, the Sardar Patel Stadium or the Motera Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad is set to be the world’s largest cricket stadium with capacity of 110,000
spectators — higher than the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. According to The Week, the stadium will sprawl across 64 acres. It will have two cricket grounds with small pavilion areas, indoor practice pitches, training centre and a 55-room club house, which will have an Olympic size swimming pool, badminton and tennis courts, a squash arena, table tennis area and a 3D projector theatre. The complex will have hockey and football grounds and a kabaddi area too.
