Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India’s first smart city and only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), is now turning to ‘concert tourism’ to attract young talent.
For the past few years, the GIFT City authority has hosted garba nights on its campus. Now, it is scaling up with bigger names—AP Dhillon, Himesh Reshammiya and Sonu Nigam—all set to perform this December.
Boosting talent attraction
Sanjay Kaul, Managing Director and Group CEO of GIFT City, said the aim is to strengthen social infrastructure with entertainment, recreation and retail. “National and global concerts are among our biggest attractions,” he said.
These concerts bring in young visitors from across the country while offering enhanced experiences to locals. “We’re also adding more restaurants and eateries to make the campus more vibrant,” Kaul added.
Such lifestyle offerings help visitors experience the ‘Walk to Work’ culture that defines GIFT City, which already includes schools, sports complexes, cultural centres, hospitals and food courts. Upcoming features include a 9-km riverfront and the GIFT Eye—a Ferris wheel taller than the London Eye.
Hospitality sector on a high
GIFT City and Narendra Modi Stadium have emerged as major venues for large national and international concerts, reshaping the hospitality landscape of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad.
A hotelier told Mirror: “Concerts, destination weddings, government summits and corporate conventions have filled the calendar starting December. This surge is redefining the hospitality sector in both cities.”
Premium hotels are now reporting 85–95% occupancy from December to February, with room rates rising 30–50%. During key concerts, tariffs in some hotels have surged several-fold.
Vikas Sood, General Manager of The Leela Gandhinagar, said: “Our rooms are booked weeks in advance. The mix of guests—from wedding groups to global business leaders—reflects Gujarat’s evolving identity as a hub for leisure, luxury and large-scale events.”