Tourism brings in huge revenue, besides creating vast employment opportunities. Realising the potential of the sector in the State, the Andhra Pradesh Hotels’ Association is all set to provide it the much-needed impetus.
The association, which was formed after the disintegration of a combined organisation of hoteliers, plans to host a mega tourism summit in Vijayawada on September 27, on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
“We intend to create a common platform for all stakeholders from across the country. Hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators and the Departments of Tourism will be part of this summit. The idea is to project Andhra Pradesh as a tourist destination by showcasing its potential. Besides portraying places that can attract tourist flow from far and wide, we will also utilise the occasion to draw a road map,” said association president K. Pattabhi Ram. The association members are planning to meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in a week to put forth their proposals.
“We have enormous resources to promote temple tourism, adventure travel, ecotourism, rural tourism and cultural tourism. All we need to do is impress upon the government to build the required infrastructure like good roads and provision of basic amenities, allocation of land on lease to hoteliers, tax holidays and other sops,” said Mr. Pattabhi Ram.
The association is also eager to put a new lease of life into the now defunct State Tourism Promotion Council. This is essential as the Department of Tourism portfolio comes under the Chief Minister. Stakeholders feel that important decisions concerning the sector could be speeded up through the Tourism Promotion Council, as the Chief Minister will be pre-occupied with several other key issues.
The newly-formed association will be ratified by the South Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association in the first week of September, and the proposed summit will be its first assignment.
