With the Master Plan for the new capital envisaging a tourist circuit in Guntur and Krishna districts, all eyes are now fixed on the emerging potential of the tourism and hospitality sectors in AP.
Big connectivity proposals have been laid out to ensure easy access to all the tourism hotspots to attract investments. The proposed tourist circuit will have metro rail connectivity in 145 km, apart from road and water ways in 61 km and 45 km respectively.
The tourism and hospitality sectors are seen as the big revenue churners industry. At present, they contribute 6.23 per cent to the National GDP and 8.78 percent of the total employment in the country. The State government is also pinning high hopes on these sectors that they will give economic activities a boost.
Further, the labour intensive hospitality sector would have no dearth of manpower, given the large pool of graduates in the State.
Sector giants feel that with the tourism circuit in place, plenty of jobs such as travel agents, tour guides, air hostess, chefs, waiters and managers will be up for grabs .
Amid this development plans, local hoteliers are seeking tax incentives and infrastructural support. “The government should also focus on building the capacity of hospitality sector, by unleashing new marketing strategies, Rakesh David, general manager of Hotel Grand Nagarjuna says.
In Guntur, quality accommodation still remains an issue, with only a few hotels offering decent accommodation and fine dines facilities, he says, adding that there is a huge demand for quality hotels in the city.
“We urge the government to look into a capital subsidy programme for budget hotels including elimination of customs duty for import of raw material, equipment and liquor, apart from a five-year tax holiday for the star hotels,” Mr. Rakesh adds.
(Reporting by
P. Samuel Jonathan)
