APTDC to invest Rs 40 cr next fiscal

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) plans to invest Rs 40 crore next fiscal, with a continued focus on upgrading its various services.

An equal amount is being invested in the current fiscal. On the anvil are plans to increase the number of buses to 125 from the existing 116 by March 2005, at an investment of around Rs 50 lakh on each bus. This apart, it also plans to expand its water fleet and budget hotels.

Speaking to Business Standard, APTDC managing director T V N Rao said, "Most of the new buses that we plan to add will be Volvos and hi-tech buses and we plan to increase the number to 150 by 2006." The corporation also plans to phase out the buses at the lower end, he added.

APTDC also has plans to start a double-deck A/C cruise in Hussainsagar at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. "The cruise is likely to be commissioned by February 2005," Rao said.

Besides, five houseboats in Konaseema will be commissioned in December this year at a total investment of Rs 1.4 crore. These investment plans are inclusive of additional facilities that the corporation plans to provide in the form of entertainment and sports activities.

"By the middle of next year, another 20 houseboats will be commissioned and those will involve private participation too," Rao said.

APTDC's current water fleet strength inclusive of cruises, speed boats, pedal boats, shikaras, house-boats and parasailing is 105, with the revenues earned from it in the last fiscal being around Rs 3 crore. Besides, the corporation's plans of introducing a sea cruise from Visakhapatnam to Chennai and Andaman islands at a cost of Rs 35 crore is awaiting approval from the Centre.

In early 2006, five budget hotels will be commissioned at an investment of Rs 15 crore. There are at present 27 Punnami Hotels in the state with 861 rooms and 1,910 beds.

The Punnami hotels have had a total occupancy rate of around 44 per cent in 2003-04 and for the current fiscal till September 2004, it has registered an occupancy rate of about 52 per cent. The tariff rates of the hotels range between Rs 300 and Rs 1,200.

APTDC, which was a loss-making corporation till 1998-99, has made a profit of Rs 77 lakh this year, after depreciation. It has recorded revenues of Rs 46 crore in 2003-04 and has set a target of Rs 66 crore this fiscal.

Out of the Rs 46 crore that it has earned in the last fiscal, about 50 per cent has been from conducted and packaged tours and 25 per cent from accommodation, with the remaining being from water fleet, sound and light shows and eco-tourism. The corporation runs packaged tours on around 85 circuits, with one of the popular packages being the 14-day south India package tour covering destinations in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry.