GOI’s Web Ratna award for Gujarat Tourism

Rathin Das | Ahmedabad
-Daily Pioneer

The Gujarat Tourism’s website has been awarded the ‘Silver Icon’ in the Web Ratna awards for 2009, instituted by the Department of Information Technology of the Government of India.

The website, www.gujarattourism.com, won the first ever Web Ratna award in the web content category from among 274 shortlisted sites nominated from a total 6,000 Government sites across India.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has recently been roped in as the brand ambassador for Gujarat tourism and the shooting for the advertisement films are scheduled to begin soon.

The Web Ratna award was received by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) Chairman Kamlesh Patel at Delhi earlier in the week.

State Tourism Minister Jay Narayan Vyas said that the spadework for the website began since Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a campaign to celebrate International Kite Festival, Vibrant Gujarat, Navratri, Rann Utsav and other festivals to attract more tourists to the State.

Gujarat Tourism’s website has been designed to highlight the spirit of State’s hospitality.

The user-friendly website contains region-wise and category-wise details on archaeology, architecture, fairs and festivals, forests and sanctuaries, beaches, museums, various religious circuits and also the only hill station at Saputara.

Nearly three lakh online visitors all over the world have viewed the website since it was developed in July last year. The website adheres to basic features like navigation, functional design, visual appeal and creativity, said State Tourism Secretary Vipul Mitra.

The intention behind creating this website is to share the colours, romance, heritage and mystique that entwine the Gujarati legend, he added.