Thousands of visitors throng the picnic spots with the onset of the auspicious ‘Kartika Masam’ which begins immediately after Deepavali. Local people visit the nearby tourist places in large groups. This is also the peak season for tourism.
The favourite getaways include the sprawling 625-acre zoo, the Kambalakonda wildlife sanctuary, Kailasagiri Hill, the beaches at Rushikonda, Yarada, and Bheemunipatnam, Kondakarla Ava near Anakapalle, and the Buddhist heritage sites in and around the city. Araku, Lambasingi and Anantagiri are the preferred choice for overnight stay.
But Visakhapatnam, which has all the trappings of a tourist paradise, is fast losing out to neighbouring States. The tourist footfall, including local visitors, is declining and the reasons are not hard to find.
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Shortage of accommodation, non-availability of rooms to suit different classes of tourists, not promoting water sports, adventure, entertainment zones and not sticking to the tourism calendar are some of the reasons.
Cottages at Lambasingi
Though the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has completed the construction of cottages after a long delay at Lambasingi, they are yet to be inaugurated. The four tents, being provided by the corporation, do not suffice the needs of scores of tourists, who visit the place to enjoy the chilly weather between November and January.
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Container restaurants have been opened by the APTDC at ‘Erramatti Dibbalu’, the red sand dunes, near Bheemunipatnam, and at the pristine Yarada Beach recently, but these are not yet operational. The road leading to Borra Caves is narrow and frequent traffic jams mar the experience of tourists.
"The number of tourists visiting Araku and other tribal areas like Anantagiri is on the decline. The ‘Grama Darshini’ project, which was taken up at Anantagiri before the elections, is yet to be completed. The idea behind the project is to showcase tribal culture to tourists at one place," says S. Balaraju, founder director of Nature, an NGO based at Araku.
Lack of publicity
"Lack of awareness and publicity about new tourist spots and high accommodation rates are a deterrent to middle class people. There are a number of waterfalls that are unexploited. The popular ones should be provided with railings and other safety amenities," he says.
"There was an increase in tourists from Hyderabad to Vizag post-bifurction of the State. But, of late, the introduction of low cost flights from Hyderabad to Goa and the lack of accommodation and new activities in Vizag, seems to be have led to decrease in tourist arriving from Hyderabad," says Muralikrishna of Travel IQ.
"Our zoo (Indira Gandhi Zoological Park) is about double the size of the zoo in Thailand. Their single-day revenue will be about the same as our annual revenue. Innovative ideas such as ramps to enable tourists to feed the giraffes and fish will go a long way in attracting more tourists," says Vasu, MD of Gayatri Travels, an exclusive tourist transport operator.
Yacthing
"We have all the resources for development of water sports like yachting at Rushikonda, which is ideal venue to host international yachting competitions. Paragliding and other adventure sports can also be developed," Mr. Vasu says.
"There is a slight decrease in the footfalls at Borra Caves and Araku this year compared to last year. We (APTDC) are providing four tents at Lambasingi, pending finalisation of the private contractor for operation and maintenance of the cottages at Lambasingi," APTDC Divisional Manager Prasada Reddy told The Hindu .
"The private operator for the container restaurant at Yarada has been finalised but he has sought time for adding some amenities," he adds.