Statue of Unity to bring more tourists to Gujarat: Official

The 182-meter tall Statue of Unity has seen over 1 lakh visitors since it was opened to the public on November 1 and will help Gujarat attract more tourists, including international ones, in the future, a senior state Tourism official said Sunday. The statue of Sardar Patel, situated on an islet near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadiya in the state's Narmada district, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31.

The statue, the tallest in the world, has so far attracted 1.10 lakh visitors since November 1, including a record 28,409 people Saturday, S J Haider, Principal Secretary (Tourism), Gujarat told PTI. "The statue will help in achieving considerable growth in tourist arrivals to Gujarat. Visitors have been thronging the site since the first day which saw 10,000 people come in," Haider informed Sunday.

"This year, Gujarat recorded a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 17 percent in tourist arrivals. In 2017, Gujarat received 5.2 crore tourists of which 10 lakh were foreign nationals. By the end of 2019, we are eyeing a target of 6 crore tourists to the state," he said.

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Among the prime attractions at the site is a viewers gallery inside the statue at a height of 135 meters with a capacity of 200 persons at a time. High-speed lifts installed there are capable of taking 5,000 persons per day to the viewing gallery.