Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Forum was officially launched on Thursday by Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh. Industry stakeholders were also appointed to the forum, with K. Vijay Mohan as president, Prasanth Singh as vice president, Pavan Katrik as secretary, Jaydeep Biswas as joint secretary, Lakshmi Sridhar as treasurer and several other members.
During the launch, the president of the Tours and Travels Association and the forum, K. Vijay Mohan, made several requests to the minister. He urged for tourism to be declared an industry, 2025 to be designated as the "Year of Visit Andhra Pradesh," a revision of the liquor policy, a new shack policy, the creation of a brand ambassador for the state.
In response to the various representations, the minister assured the stakeholders that Andhra Pradesh would be transformed into a top tourism destination and welcomed investors to the state through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. He announced plans for a meeting in Vijayawada to further engage with industry stakeholders and stated that a revised excise policy would be implemented from October 1st, and a new tourism policy would be drafted by April 2025.
