Tag Archives: Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh government has introduced a major financial reprieve for hotel bars by significantly reducing their licence fees and registration charges. The new policy lowers the combined annual charges for bars in three-star and higher hotels from ₹66.55 lakh to ₹25 lakh, aiming to boost the hospitality sector.

Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) has proposed to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, to include tourism in the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) framework. It stated, “Such inclusion will ensure affordable credit, pave the way for sustainable development, and will catalyse investments, create jobs.”

Oberoi Group plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore in setting up various projects in Andhra Pradesh, thereby directly providing employment opportunities to 1,500 people and 11,000 people indirectly. The group is to build hotels with seven-star facilities.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, G Kishan Reddy, Cabinet Minister for Tourism & Culture, has shared that three monuments of Andhra Pradesh – monuments at Nagarjunakonda, District Guntur; Buddhist remains at Salihundam, District Srikakulam; and Veerabhadra Temple at Lepakshi – have been identified as Adarsh Smarak for providing additional facilities like Wi-Fi, cafeteria, interpretation centre, illumination, etc.

Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Tourism Minister, Andhra Pradesh, has announced to reopen all the prime tourist attractions as the numbers of positive cases have dropped in the country. He also said that they will plan a roadshow across the country to popularise state’s tourist attractions. Also, the tourism department’s Blue Bay hotel at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam will be developed with INR 164 crore, he shared. Some of the attractions that have opened, include Sri Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati; Rushikonda Beach, Visakhapatnam; Ramakrishna Beach, Visakhapatnam; Undavalli Caves, Amaravati; and Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam.

Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, was on a three-day visit to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, during which she visited Uma Maheshwaram, Mannanur, Farhabad, Alampur and Hyderabad in Telangana, as well as SriSailam in Andhra Pradesh. These sites are being developed by the respective state governments under MOT’s Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD schemes.

Tourism Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao has said that a new tourism policy will be brought out soon to develop the sector in the state in a month or two. He said that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) will be encouraged by conducting an investors’ meet in August. Addressing a press conference, the Minister said that as per the Central Government guidelines, all the tourism department’s hotels, as well as private hotels and restaurants, can be opened from 8th June. He said that guests can book rooms online at all the hotels run by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC).

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) concluded its first online members’ meet on March 31, which was attended by close to 100 members from across the country, including Kerala, Assam, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The meeting, moderated by Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI and Vinayak Koul, Hony. Secretary, ATOAI, helped members and the Association share constructive ideas to survive in present times. Members also got a chance to share their experiences. The keynote speaker for the meeting, Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH, briefed members on various topics related to the COVID-19 crisis and explained that the strategy going forward should broadly be divided in two phases – phase-I being survival and phase-II being revival. He also informed members about the various efforts of FAITH for the tourism industry.

K J Alphons, Union Minister for Tourism has inaugurated the project ‘Development of Eco Circuit: Pathanamthitta – Gavi – Vagamon – Thekkady’ under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism in the presence of K Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Government of Kerala at Vagamon in Kerala. This Eco Circuit project was sanctioned in December 2015 for Rs 76.55 crores.  Major works carried out under the project includes Eco Adventure Tourism Park at Vagamon, Cultural Centre at Kadamanitta, Eco Log Huts at Peerumedu, Idukki, Approach Roads, walking trails, rain shelters at Pine Valley Forest, Thekkady, Kumily, Moozhiyar Dam, Penstock and Kakki Dam. Swadesh Darshan scheme is one of the flagship schemes of Ministry of Tourism for development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritised manner. Under this scheme the Government is focussing on development of quality infrastructure in the country with objective of providing better experience and facilities to the visitors on one hand and on other hand fostering the economic growth. The scheme was launched in 2014 -15 and as on date the Ministry has sanctioned 77 projects worth projects for Rs. 6131.88 crore to 30 states and UTs. 30 projects / major components of projects are expected to be completed during the current financial year, of which 12 projects worth Rs 1024.49 crore, covering the states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Kerala and Sikkim have already been inaugurated. The Ministry of Tourism recognising the tourism potential of the state has sanctioned seven projects in Kerala under the Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD schemes for an approximate amount of Rs 550 crores.

The Andhra Pradesh government has partnered with IndiGo to operate two weekly non-stop services between Vijayawada and Singapore with effect from December 04, 2018. Ajay Jain, IAS Principal Secretary- Energy, I&I said, “We feel excited to engage IndiGo as the most preferred airline for connecting Vijayawada to Singapore. This will fulfil the dreams of Telugu Diaspora in Singapore and will be a great convenience for our investors and business community.”  Virender Singh, CEO- APADCL, said, “This is just a beginning to add more such flights to many more destinations”. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “We feel privileged to be the first domestic airline to launch international services from Vijayawada in association with the Government of Andhra Pradesh. These twice weekly non-stop flight services between Vijayawada and Singapore will augment our regional connectivity that we aspire to provide across domestically and internationally.”