Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday launched the Andhra Pradesh Tourism online trade reservation web portal.
Later, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the tourism scenario in the State and made suggestions to the officials on additions and deletions in the draft new tourism policy after discussing key components.
He said the tourism policy should be an investor-friendly one that can attract people interested in putting their money in the State to create infrastructure facilities and set up projects.
Referring to the picturesque locations that the State was gifted with, the Chief Minister directed the officials to create world-class infrastructure facilities in the Araku region of Visakhapatnam district.
Training in hospitality
He also suggested establishment of an institution offering training in hospitality management that could guarantee placement to the students passing out of it.
The Chief Minister stressed on the need for accountability and transparency in utilisation of the government funds and urged the officials to focus on completion of the projects that had to be stalled abruptly.
He asked the officials to rope in prominent companies in the hospitality sector to create facilities and said 12 places in the State would get 7-star hotels. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy wanted the department to explore the existing opportunities in the tourism sector to groom the State on par with the ones like Rajasthan. He said the long coastline and other attractive features should be explored to attract tourists not just from across the nation but also from outside.
Concessions likely: Minister
Speaking to reporters after the review meeting, Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao said it was decided to open all tourist destinations in the State to the visitors in strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines. He said the department would mainly focus on eco-tourism and temple tourism as the two sectors had vast potential.
The Minister said the Chief Minister had responded favourably to a plea for concessions in view of the huge revenue losses incurred by the hotels and resorts run by the department.
The refurbished Bapu Museum in the city would be re-opened very soon and plans were also afoot for development of the Shilparamam, he said.
Special Chief Secretary, Department of Tourism and Culture, Rajat Bhargav, Managing Director of the AP Tourism Development Corporation Praveen Kumar and other officials were present.
