Tourists arriving in good numbers

Visakhapatnam: TOURISTS who started trickling into Visakhapatnam, the main tourist hub of Andhra Pradesh after easing of Covid-19induced lockdown curbs, now the number has gone up significantly as the tourism-friendly season October has arrived.

The arrival of tourists in such a large number has pepped up the sagging morale of the travel operators to such an extent that in some places like Araku Valley, known for green-capped hillocks and coffee gardens, no room display boards has greeted tourists who made their plans impromptu and flocked area, popular as Poorman's Ooty during the weekend. In the pre-Covid phase, this used to be a big hit among leisure tourists from West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Even in Visakhapatnam, known for popular tourist destinations like million year old Borra Caves, 17th century Dutch township Bheemunipatnam, often called Bheemili, Buddhist sites of Bavikonda, Appikonda and Thotlakonda and golden beaches all along 30-km stretch between Visakhapatnam-Bheemili. During the weekend, all star hotels in the city after a long time experienced a total 'sold-out.'

Lambasingi, a hill destination near Chintapalli, about 100 km from the city, has emerged as a popular budget tourist spot notwithstanding the fact that there is no decent accommodation in the village. The area is known for zero degree temperature when the winter peaks giving it a new tagline in tourism circles as South India's Kashmir.

"We used to get 500 to 600 tourists during weekdays which swells to 1,000 to 1,500 per day on the weekends. This is a very good sign and we are confident that the number will go up once the positivity rate comes down further," Appala Naidu, an employee of AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) told Bizz Buzz.

Big plans

The State Government which has big plans for the future to promote tourism has drawn up a blueprint to augment the existing infrastructure to improve the ecosystem. During the pandemic, the revenue from tourism in Andhra Pradesh nosedived with a fall from Rs 120 crore to Rs 60 crore.

Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao said besides Visakhapatnam, they are keen to promote Vijayawada and Tirupati as tourist spots. He said Simhadri Apanna temple at Simhachalam and Kanaka Durga temple at Vijayawada will help promote temple tourism. Medical tourism will be a thrust area besides Buddhist tourism by developing a circuit. Oberoi Group, he said, has already evinced keen interest to open hotels in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati. APTDC is redeveloping Rushikonda resorts in Visakhapatnam with an outlay of about Rs 200 crore.

The State Cabinet has already given its nod to install a 120-metre high sky tower atop Kailasagiri hill park to give a 180-degree view of Visakhapatnam. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wanted to prioritise projects like Bhogapuram International Airport, Visakhapatnam-Bheemili Beach Corridor at a cost of Rs 1,167 crore, Metro and Tram Rail Project involving a massive investment of Rs 20,000 crore.

Tours and Travel Association of Andhra president K Vijaya Mohan and secretary Padhi Srinivas Kumar said the tourism sector is showing signs of recovery and hoped that the government will give long-awaited industry status and incentives to the hospitality sector which was badly hit by the pandemic for over one and half years.