Presenting the new Tourism Policy in the AP Assembly on Friday, State Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Minister Kandula Durgesh said that they want to make Andhra Pradesh one of the top 10 states with the highest number of foreign tourists coming to the country.
They have decided to set up infrastructure in such a way that the expenditure of a tourist in this sector ranges from Rs. 1,700 to Rs. 25,000. He said they intend to bring Andhra Pradesh, which is ranked third in the tourism sector, to number 1. He said that Andhra Pradesh will go down in history as the state that has given industry status to this sector.
He said that this new tourism policy is to promote economic development, employment generation and cultural exchange through the tourism sector. He said that his government is taking steps towards providing more than 20 percent employment opportunities in AP through the tourism sector. He clarified that his government’s goal is to achieve responsible tourism and sustainable development in tourism in that order.
However, he said that this policy has been formulated with the aim of increasing the GVA from 4.6 percent to 28 percent and increasing employment in the tourism sector from 12 percent to 15 percent. He said that this tourism policy has been formulated with the vision of developing the tourism sector in the state as well as strengthening local communities.
He also said that it has been decided to set up tourism circuits in such a way that a tourist stays for five days. He reminded that there are currently 3,500 rooms in tourism hotels in the state. They are planning to increase their number to 10,000. He said that they are moving forward with the aim of achieving an investment of Rs. 25,000 crores in the tourism sector under the PPP method.
Duresh said that instead of developing a single type of tourism, they want to establish tourism policies like adventure, eco, village, wellness, and agri tourism. As part of Destination and Diversification Development, they said that seven anchor hubs are being set up in Visakhapatnam, Araku Valley, Rajamahendravaram, Amaravati, Srisailam, Gandikota, and Tirupati areas in Andhra Pradesh. He said that they have decided to set up Buddhist circuits in Amaravati-Nagarjuna Konda, Visakhapatnam-Thotlakonda areas.
HE also explained that 10 circuits are being set up to connect the twelve Jyotirlingas, eighteen Shakti Peethas, Shaiva Kshetras and other temples. As part of the coastal tourism circuit, five beach circuits are being set up in Vizag, Kakinada, Srikakulam, Nellore and Machilipatnam. He announced that two cruise tourism circuits are being developed along with the river tourism circuit.
Eco-tourism circuits are being set up in Srikakulam-Visakhapatnam, East Godavari-Guntur, Kurnool-Nellore. He clarified that his government’s idea is to implement all the subsidies given to industries in the tourism sector and develop them. He also said that high-value tourism projects are coming to AP with the support of the central government.
