Multi-Pronged Strategy Key To Promote Vizag Tourism

Visakhapatnam has immense potential for turning into a big hit with both domestic and foreign tourists. What is required to attract more is to promote it as a destination to meet the aspirations of various types of tourists - Jerry Kingsley, Head (Strategic Consulting), JLL

Visakhapatnam: JLL, a global real estate services company specialising in commercial property and investment management, and the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), have recommended an aggressive tourism promotion policy and a multi-pronged approach to transform Visakhapatnam, popular as City of Destiny and Vizag, into an ideal destination for sustainable tourism.

The report pointed out that Visakhapatnam has a wide range of themes like ecotourism, heritage tourism, adventure tourism, beach and water-based tourism, religious tourism and film shooting tourism for promotion. As part of the central government’s plan to create ‘growth hubs’ by 2047, Visakhapatnam has been selected as one of the four cities by NITI Aayog.

As of 2023, Andhra Pradesh saw a total of 2,547 lakh domestic and 0.66 lakh foreign tourists, which is a testament to the State’s appeal as a tourist destination. The most prominent tourism anchors in the State are Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Rajamahendravaram. Among the total visitors to Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam region contributed 24 per cent to the State’s tourist inflow.

In their report titled ‘Unlocking Visakhapatnam’s Tourism Sector,’ JLL and CII hailed the existing initiatives and sought several new strategies to retain the interest of the visitors to spend more days to experience places of importance with their friends and families. The report was released at the Travel and Tourism Summit organised by CII here recently.

“Visakhapatnam has immense potential for turning into a big hit with both domestic and foreign tourists. What is required to attract more is to promote it as a destination to meet the aspirations of various types of tourists,” said Jerry Kingsley, Head, Strategic Consulting, Value and Risk Advisory, India & City Lead Capital Markets, JLL.

He said the picturesque locales like the beaches and valleys, Buddhist sites, Eastern Ghats and the construction of GMR International Airport at Bhogapuram and Adani Data City will certainly help in attracting more tourists.

Dr V Murali Krishna, Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh, said Andhra Pradesh caters to all kinds of tourists. The State has shown impressive growth in tourism, with domestic tourism increasing by eight per cent annually & foreign tourist arrivals rising by 3.2 per cent over the past two years. He underlined the need for concerned efforts for promotion of Visakhapatnam as a global destination for tourists.

CII Visakhapatnam Zone Chairman Grandhi Rajesh said the chamber is determined to supplement the government’s efforts to promote tourism by augmenting the existing infrastructure.

In its recommendation, the report raised a strong pitch for creation of a regulatory framework to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) and provide support to MSMEs. Efforts should be focused on making the tourism sector an attractive source of work by improving employee retention, enhancing working conditions and providing continuous skills training.

Citing the instance of China Hospitality Education Initiative launched by the Marriott Foundation aiming to provide development programmes and educational resources to educators in the hospitality and tourism sector to prepare students for successful careers in the industry, while contributing to overall capacity building, it sought to emulate that success story. Harping on the importance of supply chain management, the report underscored the need for enhancing connectivity within the tourism value chain, prioritising local procurement and strengthening collaborations between different sectors within the industry. Green supply chains project implemented in Ljubljana, Slovenia was also referred to as a success story to draw inspiration. The project launched in Slovenia in 2015 promotes sustainable economic growth and supports local farmers by facilitating connections between the tourism sector and local agriculture.

On tourism standards and development, the report suggested evolving international accreditation standards for job skills in the tourism industry and providing accreditation to the tourist destinations/attractions on the basis of their performance through awards like star rating/grading of destinations 5 star/4/3/2 and 1 star based on ranking.