Gujarat Tourism bags International PATA Gold Award

"The White Rann", a coffee table book published by the Gujarat Tourism has won the prestigious PATA Gold award for the year 2012, said Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary (Tourism) Gujarat. This year's awards attracted 180

entries from 79 countries worldwide.

Mittra said that the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Awards recognises exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavours, acknowledging and rewarding the very best that the Asia Pacific's travel industry has to offer. The winning projects set industry standards for excellence and innovation, serving as examples for others to follow. PATA will present up to four Grand Awards for best of show entries in the following broad categories: Environment, Education & Training, Heritage & Culture and Marketing Campaign. All award recipients will be honoured during a special luncheon at the PATA Annual Meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The White Rann is a lyrical telescoping of the history of the vibrant and colourful land of Kachchh that is located in the Gujarat. The White Rann, the limitless expanse of the white desert in Kachchh, is described in this book as are the many monuments; cities and people of this unique region are given life in the book as also its ecological and archeological aspects.

The is a useful guide to tourists and serve as a starting point to researchers who want to explore the vastness of the region of Kachchh.

Kachchh region is a gateway to the past Indian civilization like the 5000 years old Indus Valley civilization as this civilization's important site, Dholavira is right there. Also, traces of the ancient maritime civilization of India are all over the long coastline of Kachchh which is dotted with many ports, both ancient and modern. The arts and crafts and the

traditional architecture and textiles traditions of Kachchh are celebrated in the book. But the White Rann that features some of the finest photographers of Gujarat, has its main focus on the silence and serenity of the White Rann that is also a call of spirituality. Mittra said that with a PATA Gold Award, Gujarat is now firmly placed on the world scene of travel and tourism.