Tourist activity is set to resume in the district from August 1, after a gap of four months.
The tourism sector has suffered losses of over ₹12 crore due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now gearing up for a cautious restart. Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao announced that visitors would be allowed to tourist spots from August 1 across the State, and asked officials to finish pending works within these two weeks.
Officials are now chalking out plans to ensure stringent social distancing at all tourist places in the district.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) Divisional Manager T.G. Prasada Reddy said that all APTDC hotels and restaurants have been opened to the public following instructions from the Central government from June 8.
“With Mr. Srinivasa Rao’s announcement, we are preparing to open all destinations under our circle,” he said, adding that from August 1, all beaches including Rushikonda, which were barricaded, will be thrown open. All tourist places under APTDC, including Borra Caves, parks, and waterfalls, will also be opened.
Social distancing
Mr. Prasada Reddy said that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the government is already being implemented at the hotels and restaurants. The APTDC will also strictly implement COVID-19 protocols at the tourist spots too.
In the case of Borra Caves, authorities have decided to allow not more than 300 tourists in an hour. Earlier, nearly 1,000 tourists used to visit Borra Caves in an hour.
“While buying tickets, we will issue a time slot for their visit and we will also provide disposable gloves. Wearing a face mask will be mandatory. Apart from providing sanitisers, we will also conduct temperature checks before allowing the visitors entry. We will also encourage cashless transactions at the tourist spots,” Mr. Prasada Reddy told The Hindu .
Boating operations
Meanwhile, boating operations will also resume at the beaches. “We have a strict SOP issued by the State Government and the activities will be monitored by the Boating Control Rooms. Social distancing will be implemented on the boats too,” he said.
Apart from the tourist destinations that come under APTDC, there are other tourist attractions like Kailasagiri, Visakha Museum, Thotlakonda, VMRDA Central Park, NTR VMRDA Park, Tenneti Park and others, which are under the purview of the Visakhapatnam Metro Region Development Authority (VMRDA).
VMRDA Commissioner P. Koteswara Rao said that they will reopen the facilities after receiving guidelines from the State Government.
