VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated World Tourism Day here and started the ‘Visit Andhra Pradesh 2023 Campaign’ to promote tourism in the state and released brochures to mark the occasion here on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister also unveiled the GIS web portal to guide visitors to the tourist destinations and released a brochure on the ‘Diverse Festivities of Andhra Pradesh.’
Jagan said AP is known for its rich natural, cultural, historical and religious heritages and tourist attractions and also renowned for its cuisine and hospitality of the people. The state has been a popular destination for domestic tourists, but unfortunately not many foreign tourists are coming in other than at Tirumala and Puttaparthi, he noted.
The CM said that with a view to maximising the tourism revenue, increasing the visibility of various destinations and efficiently managing the assets, the state tourism development corporation (APTDC) aimed to develop a Web GIS Portal.
Special CS to the tourism and culture department Rajat Bhargava said the Web GIS Portals are used for marketing and promotion of tourism and have the potential to improve destination management activities. AP is the first state in India to do such a promotion, he said.
All travel, tourism agencies and hoteliers will carry the logo Visit AP 2023 in their mails and promote the campaign through extensive social media interactions. The tourism department has come up with new circuits, which will be promoted as part of the Visit AP 2023. The tribal circuits, the Buddhism circuit and Vizag as a gateway destination to neighboring states will be highlighted during the campaign
The Forts of Andhra Pradesh, the temple tourism circuits including the Shakti Peethas of Pithapuram and Draksharamam, caravan tourism, experiential tourism to attract inbound tourism, beaches of AP, the heritage circuit of AP, the Festivals of Andhra Pradesh and Food & Cruiser of AP will be attractions for tourists, it is reckoned.
Hotel associations and travels agencies will conduct roadshows in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Cochin, Hyderabad, Delhi and Chandigarh to promote AP tourism.
