The big fat gujju wedding zone

Gujarat has world-facing boardrooms, sleek highways, lion safaris and pilgrimage circuits. And it makes cracking good food—er, at least of one genre. Now, it also has a new government initiative, ‘Wed in Gujarat’, ostensibly to tap into the destination wedding boom, but also to slow the trend of locals preferring “outbound shaadis”.

The idea to try and create a sense of the exotic that can appeal to the famously world-trotting Gujarati mind as well as to those from outside, says tourism secretary Kuldeep Arya. “This is a niche tourism sector for us. Weddings are currently not so popular in Gujarat. The trend even for locals is to have their destination weddings outside the state, which we would like to reverse. Besides, elaborate wedding events add a lot to the local economy.”

Widely welcomed by all stakeholders, the idea nevertheless faces a rather large hurdle in the state’s old policy of alcohol prohibition. The announcement has also reignited debate over missed opportunities and the unsustainable scaling of infrastructure driven by policy constraints—issues that are likely to shape the prospects of Gujarat’s wedding ecosystem.

The revenues are nothing to sniff at. Almost 30 per cent of all Indian nuptials are now destination weddings. According to market analyst Grand View Research, this economy was pegged at Rs 1.73 lakh crore in 2025 across India, and is expected to reach Rs 4.6 lakh crore by 2033, at an annual growth rate of 14.8 per cent. Destination weddings involve a ticket size of anywhere between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 25 crore—not including the gifts, jewellery and trousseau. Though a dominant tourism player, Gujarat is a footnote in this sector currently. Goa and Rajasthan are the top two destinations for their beaches and heritage palaces respectively, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra.

SETTING UP SHOP

The first step in setting up its own shop, says Arya, is to identify 10-15 locations, and develop them with the specific requirements of the sector. A consultant is being onboarded for this. Some identified venues include the Statue of Unity in central Gujarat, the coastal town of Madhavpur Ghed near Porbandar (identified with the epic narrative of the Lord Krishna-Rukmini marriage), the White Rann of Kutch, and the coastal and pilgrimage towns of Dwarka-Shivrajpur, Ambaji and Somnath.

“We have grand heritage properties and palaces unique to Gujarat that are unlike those in Rajasthan,” says Arya. “Luxurious stay and event hosting infrastructure already exists. But as we look to leverage our cultural heritage, we plan to create curated experiences and market them to event organisers and wedding planners.”

The concept of marketing these destinations resonates well with Shraddha Rana, director at Heritage Khirasara Palace, a restored 27-room palace on the outskirts of Rajkot. “Post-Covid, there has been a boom in cosy destination weddings. We get a lot of inquiries from NRIs and high-spending locals. But to get non-Gujaratis to come here, the biggest hurdle are the prohibition laws. If there is a policy shift allowing group permission for destination weddings, we can tap into this potential,” he says.

Anil Mulchandani, a travel writer and advisor to the Heritage Tourism Association of Gujarat, says the state has 35-40 heritage hotels and another 30-odd families are planning to renovate their properties. “A destination wedding needs 150-200 rooms for guests and another 100 for staff and services. This will be a huge ask for struggling heritage properties....The project can develop as a long-term vision, though, if the correct policies are in place,” he says.