Tag Archives: Andhra Pradesh Tourism

Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Tourism Minister, urged that tourism officers look into other strategies to entice traders and organise traders’ meets, stating that it could provide a platform to engage with traders from various segments and give the tourism sector a boost. Since, last year’s investors’ meet in Vizag drew a positive response. He said that the government’s new tourist strategy was also investor-friendly.

The Confederation of Indian industry in Andhra Pradesh in association with Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, recently organised a conference on ‘Destination Vizag: A Hidden Paradise of the East’ in Vishakhapatnam to promote the destination. About 25 representatives of various destination management companies attended the conference and were later taken on a tour to Thotlakonda Buddhist circuit, Bheemli Beach and Kailash Giri as well as an eco tourism tour to Araku Valley hill station in Visakhapatnam district. While addressing the conference Pravin Kumar, IAS Collector Vizag said that most of the tourist attractions in Visakhapatnam are unexplored, and mentioned that through promotional initiatives and marketing the city could emerge as major tourist destination. Visakhapatnam’s hilly region and tribal lives could be attractions for foreign tourists. Sreekanth Nagulapalli, IAS, Secretary, Tourism, Go AP shared tourist attractions in Andhra Pradesh and Government’s tourism policy to promote infrastructure in tourism sector. He also shared proposed initiatives to promote Vishakhapatnam as destination of hills and beaches. Dr Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC group said that Vishakhapatnam needs to be marketed well. He suggested to form a joint working group to initiate the discussion Andhra Tourism Mart. He also suggested various policy initiatives to the state government which could increase tourist arrivals into the state. Chetan Gupta, General Secretary, ADTOI suggested for more air connectivity, a need for Tourism Information Offices in the micro cities and need for developing package tours.

After strategic tie ups with six state tourism departments across India, Stayzilla now gets on board with Andhra Pradesh Tourism for the joint promotion and development of homestays in the state. The MoU was signed in the presence of Ankit Rastogi, Vice President Marketplace, Stayzilla and Himanshu Shukla, IAS, Director Tourism of APT at Vijayawada. With this association, APTDC becomes the first Tourism Board to associate with a homestay aggregator in South India. Under this agreement, Stayzilla will lend its expertise to APT to conduct verification procedures and jointly boost homestays and unique stay experiences within Andhra Pradesh. This partnership will also enable verification and training of these new Homestays being developed right from the start. Stayzilla’s team in the South, headed by Stayzilla headquarters of Bangalore, will be part of the Service and Quality Assurance Committee under APT for Inspection, which includes property verification and screening. .

Andhra Pradesh Tourism is planning to fast-track the implementation of ‘Mission 45’, which is a group of 45 projects identified by the tourism department, under the state’s attractive Liberal Land lease Policy and Public Private Partnership. Investments in these projects, pertaining to multiple segments – amusement parks, hotels, convocation centers, MICE facilities among others, are a win-win for investors owing to the incentives offered under the land lease policy of AP Government. A detailed plan of action was sketched out for each project during Andhra Pradesh Tourism’s 3-day meeting in Vijayawada with all the Regional Directors of Tourism and other senior government officials. The department intends to roll out the RFPs for each of them in the next 10 to 15 days. Emphasising on the need to be fully prepared to cater to the demand from the upcoming tourist season, it was decided that substantial effort would be undertaken to ensure that all the tourist centric facilities such as APTDC properties, water sport facilities, house boats etc. are fully functional to cater to the needs of the tourists. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Srikant Nagulapalli, Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture, Dr. R.P. Khajuria, Commissioner, Department of Tourism and M. Girija Shankar, Managing Director, AP Tourism Development Corporation, Government of Andhra Pradesh. World’s oldest aircraft carrier-ship, INS Viraat, which will be decommissioned by the Indian Navy later this year, is slotted to be berthed at the Vizag Coast by mid-2017. In view of this and to create necessary infrastructure to successfully berth the warship, the department will very soon issue notification for the selection of renowned consultants from domestic as well as international fields for drafting DPR to  select …

Andhra Pradesh Tourism has announced 25 new packages for the benefit of holiday planners and travellers. The tour packages have been segregated into the five tourist hubs of the state – Visakhapatnam, Konaseema-Rajahmundry-Kakinada, Amaravati-Vijayawada, Tirupati-Nellore and Ananthapuramu-Kurnool-Kadapa. All the tour packages are already in effect. Neerabh Kumar Prasad, I.A.S., Principal Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture, said “The tour packages have been specially crafted for the holiday travellers to make best sue of. Convenience of traveller is of utmost importance for us and these packages have been designed keeping their comfort and convenience in mind. We aim to provide them with a memorable experience to cherish ever after every time they visit Andhra Pradesh.”