Over Rs 6500 crs investments expected in New Hotel Projects alone, creating 25000+ jobs
In a significant development which shall give a much needed boost to the Tourism sector in Andhra Pradesh the council of ministers recently approved the state’s new tourism policy which it opined is one of the best policies in the country.
The policy envisions making Andhra Pradesh as the premier destination in India for both international and domestic tourists.
Similarly it aims to position Andhra Pradesh among the top 10 states in India for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs), enhancing its global tourism profile, raising the tourism sector’s contribution to employment from 12% to over 15%, creating diverse livelihood opportunities across associated industries.
‘Tourism is one of the biggest employment generators and we need to execute works in this sector with the speed of doing business in mind’ said the chief minister, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu addressing the second collectors conference.
Seven Anchor Hubs
The policy lays emphasis on 7 Anchor hubs to support diverse tourism initiatives. These hubs include Visakhapatnam, Araku-Lambasingi, Rajahmundry, Amaratvati, Srisailam, Gandikota, Tirupati.
Thematic Circuits
And to promote unique travel experiences across the state 25 thematic circuits have been identified which include 2 Buddhist circuits, 10 temple circuits, 6 coastal, 4 river, 2 cruise, 3 ecotourism circuits.
‘AP is widely recognized for its prominence in religious tourism, which constitutes 78% of the state’s tourism sector’ noted the state’s Tourism minister Mr Kandula Durgesh.
It is for this reason that the state plans to enhance pilgrim tourism by developing comprehensive temple circuits that enrich the spiritual experience for pilgrims.
Hospitality
The policy aims to Increase the state’s classified room inventory from 3,500 to over 10,000 rooms, ensuring a robust supply of high-quality Hospitality options. These will be done through both Greenfield and Brownfield development approaches.
In addition it looks to promote the development of heritage hotels, luxury hotels, and resorts, offering tourists exceptional and culturally rich experiences.
‘Many of our districts still don’t have good quality star category rooms’ said the chief minister, hence urging collectors to work on models which can be executed fast.
‘I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the tourists and see what they would expect from us’ said the CM and also explicitly stressed on the safety and security of tourists.
Apprising the CM the state’s tourism secretary, Mr Vinay Chand, IAS informed that a whopping Rs 6500 crores of investments is expected in this sector with some of the top hospitality brands wanting to expand/set up projects in AP. This he said shall create over 25000 jobs.
Some of these marquee brands include the Oberoi group, Taj, Club Mahindra, ITC hotels, Radisson Blu etc. He therefore urged collectors to identify suitable pieces of land which they can show to investors while also requesting collectors to develop tourism projects, strategies for building tourism promotion and marketing, conduct fairs, festivals and events etc.
The state’s chief secretary Mr Neerabh Kumar Prasad also advocated the need to develop local tour and travel operators in each district so that they too can play a vital role in attracting tourists.
Mr Chand also said that they aim to increase the tourism sector’s share in the state’s Gross Value Added from 4.6% to 8%.
