Tourism Minister M. Srinivasa Rao on Thursday asserted that the sale of foreign liquor in bars and restaurants run by the A.P. Tourism was a part of tourism promotion and it did not tantamount to encouraging liquor sale.
At a press conference organised by the A.P. Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) to announce resumption of boating activity in the State, the Minister said with tourists’ safety as top priority, the department had put in place a fool-proof mechanism. In the first phase, boating would re-start at Papikondalu in West Godavari district, he added.
He said the government was keen on developing tourism to attract tourists from across the globe. The pandemic had played spoil sport, causing a revenue loss of around ₹150 crore to the department in the last one-and-a-half years, he said.
To monitor boating activity, nine control rooms had been established in different locations with the coordination of the Revenue, Water Resource and Tourism departments, he said. Out of the total 300 boats operating in the Krishna and the Godavari, 52 were being run by the A.P. Tourism.
Endowments Minister V. Srinivas, MLA Malladi Vishnu, and APTDC Managing Director S. Satyanarayana were among other officials present.
