Tourism Minister for Andhra Pradesh, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, said that no stone would be left unturned by the government to give a boost to tourism. The sector has immense potential with a 972 km long coastline and scores of temples, and it will be leveraged as a growth engine, he said.
Last year, erstwhile AP received Rs. 220 crore as Central assistance and this year, a Rs. 48-crore project has already been sanctioned by the Government of India for the Anantapur-Lepakshi-Penukonda-Puttaparthi-Thimmamma Marri Manu (Kadiri) circuit, he said. AP government will celebrate the 504 year of the coronation of Emperor Srikrishnadevaraya at Anantapur and Rs. 32 lakh was sanctioned.
The Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) saw Telangana put up an impressive stall with ‘It’s all in it’ as the campaign one-liner, besides the AP stall that beckoned people with the theme, ‘Everything’s Possible’. The Minister drew applause when he walked into the Telangana Tourism stall at the Fair and played the ‘dappu’ with other artistes. TTF this time had 200 participants including Malaysia, Oman, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
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Earlier, Principal Secretary-Tourism (Telangana), B.P. Acharya, said the fledgling State offered a number of exciting destinations for tourists. Apart from the capital city of Hyderabad known for Charminar, Golconda Fort, pearls and biryani, the Kakatiya circuit with Warangal as the hub and the adjacent Karimnagar are also popular with tourists. Other lesser-known places include Jinnaram near Kawal Tiger Sanctuary and the lake resorts of Kadem (Adilabad) and Alisagar Lake (Nizamabad).
Special Chief Secretary-Tourism (AP), Chandana Khan, said it was important for people to know that there were now two States in place of the composite AP State and about Telangana and its geography. While new destinations including jungle resorts on the Telangana-Maharashtra border were opened, older destinations needed to sold and resold because there were value additions, new circuits and packages.