The Context

Tourism sector is an important growth node globally.  In 2019, total contribution, direct and indirect, of Travel and tourism sector is estimated at USD 9250 Billion¹.

Select data on India’s tourism sector are provided below, which suggest its important contribution, and further potential.

Unless otherwise stated, data are for 2019, and are obtained from the official source below ².

• The number of international tourist arrival was 17.9 million, 1.23% of the global total, with a global rank of 23^rd.
• The above figure includes arrival of 7.0 million NRIs (Non-resident Indians).
• India’s foreign exchange earnings were USD 30.1 billion (2.0% share, and 12^th rank globally).
• Average duration of stay of international visitor was 22.7 days, Thus, the total number of days by international visitors was 406.3 million. Visitors from North America (31.7 days), Africa (27.2 days), Australasia (26.2 days), and West Asia (23.4 days) stayed longer than average.
• NRIs tend to stay longer, impacting the average. This number should therefore be interpreted in a nuanced way.
• Even then, average stay in India is likely to exceed global average significantly. A study by Gossling, Scott, and Hall found that in select key European countries, with large tourism flows, length of stay on average ranged between 2.3 nights in Germany and Belgium, to 6.8 nights in France
• Stefan Gossling, Daniel Scott and C. Michael Hall “Global trends in length of stay: implications for destination management and climate change” JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 2018, VOL. 26, NO. 12, 2087–2101³

The policy implication is that the tourism strategy should not just focus on increasing inbound tourists, but also on number of days spent, and expenditure per tourist per day. This applies to domestic tourism policy by each state as well.

•  Number of Indian departures was 26.9 million. There is thus a large gap between Indian departures and international arrivals, which could be narrowed.
• Number of domestic tourists within the country was 2321.9 million, about 130 times more than the international arrivals.
•  Nearly one-fourth of domestic tourists went to Uttar Pradesh, and over one-fifth to Tamil Nadu. Gujarat had only 59 million domestic visitors (ranked ninth) with only 2.5% share.
• Large domestic tourism provides scale to India’s tourism industry, including feasibility of use of artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics.

India’s heritage and culture are spread evenly across the country. Indians wish to explore more of the past architecture through visiting tourist places. New attractions (such as explained in this column), and much improved connectivity and infrastructure has made it easier to explore India

Theme

To increase number of visitors, both domestic and international, and average nights (days) spent at the tourist destination, there is a need to invest in creating many tourist hubs, with visitor-friendly connectivity, infrastructure, attractions, and amenities.

This column discusses one such tourist hub which has been developed in Kavedia, Gujarat, around Statue of Unity, honouring Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

 He was India’s first Home Minister whose invaluable contribution to India’s unity is symbolized by his statue, designated as Statue of Unity.

 Hindol Sengupta in his Kindle e-book “The Man Who Saved India”, 2018, has examined Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution to India, with the title suggesting Sengupta’s overall assessment.

For developing the area in an integrated manner, The Statue of Unity Area Development and Tourism Governance Act, 2019 Act 33 of 2019 was passed⁴.

An Overview of Integrated tourism and Visiting Facilities and Amenities

The Statue of Unity:

Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for the design, construction and maintenance of the statue. L&T commenced the construction on 31 October 2014.

The scale of the project is reflected in the staggering size and weight of its materials: the statue’s construction took 2.5 million cubic feet of concrete, 5,700 tons of steel structure and 18,500 tons of reinforced steel rods. There are approximately 12,000 bronze panels covering the structure, weighing around 1,700 tons.

Except for outermost layer in form of bronze cladding, which carry intricate details- like Patel’s cloths, posture and facial expressions, representing 9% of the value of the project was won by a Chinese company in global tender, all the other work was done in India ⁵.

The Statue of Unity was opened to the public on October 31, 2018 to mark the birth anniversary of the country's first Home Minister. This day is commemorated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day).

The statue located in the state of Gujarat, is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182 metres (597 feet). It is located on the Narmada River, about 3.5 Km downstream from Sardar Sarovar Dam, in the Kevadia area.

It was built at a cost of INR 29.9 Billion (about USD 400 Million).

Between 31 October 2018 and November 16, 2019, 2.9 million persons visited the Statue, an average 8,500 tourists per day. Thus, even without additional amenities and attraction being opened in October 2020, about 3 million visitors per year visited the place.

The revenue earned during the above period was 0.82 Billion⁶.

The Statue of Unity website is in all UN official languages and the Kevadia App have been launched, making it easier to access the Statue and the facilities and attractions.

Connectivity to the Statue: Besides various amenities and attractions, the statue is very well connected and plans are afoot for improving the accessibility through Sea plane and railway line.

The Sea Plane service was initiated on October 31 2020 by Prime Minister Modi. The Statue of Unity in Kevadia is now connected to the riverfront of Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, 200km away from Kevadia. It takes about four hours when travelling by road. With Sea Plane, the time will be cut to about one hour. The government is providing incentives and benefits for the Sea Plane services via the central scheme Udaan (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik), started in April 2017.

Udaan is a regional airport development and "Regional Connectivity Scheme" of Government of India, with the objective of making it affordable and accessible for the common citizen of the country to fly. 

The Sea Plane scheme has been implemented under a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Gujarat government, and the Airports Authority of India (AAI)

The Sea Plane service does not require elaborate infrastructure, and so is especially suitable for India’s hilly states, and the North Eastern region.

The state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Telangana along with Andaman and Nicobar administrations were also asked to submit proposals for potential locations where water aerodromes can be set up to boost the tourism sector.

Railway Line: The Railway Minister has announced that by 31 December 2029, death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the statue of Unity will be linked with the Indian Railways network. This will greatly improve accessibility and affordability of the citizens to visit the Statue and the rest of the attractions and amenities.

Attractions and Amenities Around the Statue

These have become operational, and may be briefly enumerated as follows:

 Arogya Van (Herbal Garden):  This Garden developed near the Statue of Unity, is spread over an area of about 17 acres. The Arogya Van has a rich variety of flora, with about 0.5 million plants of 380 distinct species which exhibits a wide range of medicinal plants and health-related landscapes.

The Garden aims to raise awareness about the important role played by plants in the wellness of human beings

The Garden also lays an emphasis on Yoga, Ayurveda, Meditation and how they are an integral part of a person’s well-being⁷.

• The entry gate of Arogya Van has all 12 postures of Surya Namaskar of human size, to emphasise on the importance of yoga.
• A digital information centre has been set-up to acknowledge visitors and make them understand the heritage and the importance of medicinal plants in our day to day life.
• The key highlight at Arogya Van is the ‘Aushadh Manav.’ This is a giant three-dimensional layout of a human body in a resting posture.

Each human organ is represented by a medicinal plant which is beneficial for that particular organ. 

These plants have been planted on the specific part of the body to make the visitors understand the specific plants used for therapeutic treatment of that particular organ.

• There are five gardens inside Arogya Van – Garden of Colours, Aroma Garden, Yoga Garden, Alba Garden and Leutea Garden.

Children Nutrition Park: Malnutrition is India’s key challenge now, not hunger.  It is a technology-driven park, spread over 35,000 square feet. The park has 47 attractions providing "infotainment" to children with the underlying theme of "Sahi Poshan Desh Roshan" (Correct Food, County Benefits) 

A Nutri- train takes visitors to various thematic stations, such as Annapoorna, and Swastha Bharatam, where educational messages are conveyed through various activities and exhibition.

The Sardar Patel Zoological Park: This is popularly known as Jungle Safari. It is spread over 375 acres, and seven levels. The Zoo houses over 1,100 indigenous and exotic birds and animals of more than 100 species, brought from all over the world.

The Safari also houses two large geodesic dome aviaries. Jungle Safari also has a Petting Zone, where visitors can touch and pet animals.

Ekta Mall: Spread over 35,000 square feet, it will house a diverse range of handicrafts and traditional items from all over India symbolising Unity in Diversity - A hallmark of Indian culture.

Ekta Cruise Service: This has been launched in river Narmada between the statue and Shreshth Bharat Bhavan, around 4km away.

Unity Glow Garden: This is a unique theme park spread over an area of 3.61 acres. It has a glimmering array of installations, figures, and optical illusions that will welcome tourists to experience the joy of night tourism.

Concluding Remarks

These array of well-conceived and executed attractions and amenities can be expected to enhance the attractiveness of visiting the statue and the Kevadia region.

Domestic tourism in particular, will be given greater encouragement by the development of the Kevadia region. Visitors from the neighbouring countries, and from Africa may also find the development of the Kavedia region more accessible, affordable, and attractive.

During the Covid-19 pandemic period, tourism sector has had to face severe challenges. Gujarat policymakers and authorities deserve to be commended for taking initiatives to make the Statue and the Kavedia region more attractive for tourists and visitors.

References:

1. https://www.statista.com/topics/962/global-tourism/ -Accessed 30 October 2020
2. https://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-09/ITS%20at%20a%20glance_Book%20%282%29.pdf-Accessed on 30 October 2020
3. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2018.1529771
4. https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/acts_states/gujarat/2019/2019Gujarat33.pdf -Accessed on 20 October 2020
5. https://swarajyamag.com/politics/was-the-statue-of-unity-really-made-in-china-here-are-the-facts -Accessed on 30 October 2020
6. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/gujarat-statue-of-unity-attracted-2-9-mn-tourists-earned-rs-82-cr-in-one-year-11575993073934.html -Accessed on 30 October 2020
7. https://www.gujarattourism.com/central-zone/narmada/arogya-van.html- Accessed on 31 October 2020

Image Credit: India TV News https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/statue-of-unity-gets-more-visitors-than-statue-of-liberty-569446