Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman's focus on Buddhist sites could boost Andhra Pradesh tourism
Visakhapatnam: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s special focus on destinations related to life and times of Lord Buddha will give Andhra Pradesh government an opportunity to highlight Buddhist shrines spread across AP.
The state has over 20 Buddhist monuments and stupas under the central and state governments’ care, popular sites among them being Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Pavurakonda, Bavikonda and Thotlakonda; to name a few.
Tours and Travels Association of India president K. Vijay Mohan said recently, they invited a Vietnamese delegation to visit Visakhapatnam and discussed getting travellers from Buddhist countries in Asia to visit Buddhist shrines in Andhra Pradesh.
“There are about 200 million Buddhists in the Asia region. They can be brought to visit Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh with proper planning,” suggested Vijay Mohan.
He quoted the Dalai Lama saying that Lord Buddha gave his first Kala Chakra to Amaravati. This needs to be popularised in the world in a big way. Stories have to be built around these Buddhist sites to highlight them at the global level.
The association president said union finance minister’s proposal to organise intensive skill-development programmes for youth, including in institutes of hospitality management, providing MUDRA loans for home stays, improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations, providing performance-linked incentives to states for effective destination management, and introducing streamlined e-visa facilities along with visa-fee waivers for certain tourist groups could help Andhra Pradesh boost tourism.
Archaeology and Museums deputy director P. Suresh told this reporter that they have already prepared proposals for improving road connectivity, installation of solar lamps and public amenities, apart from construction of exhibition halls, at the Buddhist sites.
The deputy director said the department is also looking forward to partner with private agencies to develop the Buddhist sites under the PPP (public-private partnership) mode.
