Visakhapatnam: The AP Tourism and Development Corporation (APTDC) is expecting a huge flow of tourists from Dasara to the end of the Sankranti season. The tourist spell begins in the first week of October and lasts until the end of the Sankranti holidays. All the government resorts, hotels and private hotels have been booked till the end of the season, said the regional director of the corporation Srinvas Pani.
The APTDC has around 200 rooms including 10 villas in Lambasingi and 2,400 rooms in the private sector in the ASR district. The hotels and resorts are mostly in Araku, Ananthagiri, Lambasingi, Maredumilli and Rapachodavaram. Besides, 6,000 tents are available for rent in different places during the season. In Visakhapatnam city, 24-star hotels have 2,056 rooms and 124 non-star hotels have 3,626 rooms. The APTDC has one Yatri Nivas having 41 rooms but it is under the renovation process expected to be completed by the beginning of the season.
“On an average, one to one and a half crore people are visiting Visakhapatnam and ASR districts every year and this year we are expecting a little more,” said another official from the corporation. He said around 1.06 crore domestic tourists arrived during the Covid year in 2020, 1.76 crore in 2021, 1.92 crore in 2022, 1.78 crore in 2023 and 1.2 crore till July this year.
The official said though no new project has been added to existing popular sites, additional attractions have been added. Light and sound shows were added to Borra Caves and Bojjanna Konda in the Anakapalle district. The railways have deployed a special train during Dasara season with a Vistadome coach.
Private operators are planning to organise mini-buses and cars to carry tourists to Chaparai and Vanjangi Waterfalls, Araku Valley, Anantagiri and Borra Caves. Borra Caves is the most visited place in the AST district and the footfall touches 10,000 per day during peak season. Adventure tourism like hot air balloon flying and zipline adventure would also attract tourists.
In Visakhapatnam city, the popular sites are INS Kursura submarine museum, T-142 aircraft museum, Sea Harrier, Buddhist shrine at Thotlakonda, Kailasagiri hills, Rushikonda, Tenneti Park, RK Beach and Simhachalam temple. The district administration is organising a morning walk on the RK Beach and releasing a brochure on Education Tourism Circuits in the evening as a part of World Tourism Day.
