Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah on Sunday approved the final draft of the new tourism policy after discussions with tourism minister J Geeta Reddy. The policy will be released on September 27.
Directing the tourism department and the AP Tourism Development Corporation to prepare a master plan for employment-intensive projects to achieve the twin objectives of promoting tourism and creating massive job opportunities, both direct and indirect, the chief minister said 2011 would be observed as ‘Visit Andhra Pradesh’ year in recognition of the roll out of new tourist promotion initiatives in the realm of adventure, pilgrimage and beach tourism to attract more international tourists to the state.
Also, the state government is proposing to develop a sprawling modern garden on the lines of Brindavan (Mysore) and Lalbagh (Bangalore), which is likely to come up at Nagarjunasagar. Around 400 acre has already been identified in Nagalvaram village in Macherla mandal of Guntur district for the project.
“I want this park to be both a tourist and an educational destination unique in the entire south India. Wherever possible, such employment-intensive tourist projects should be promoted to provide jobs to skilled, unskilled and poor and illiterate people in rural areas,” Rosaiah said.
Andhra Pradesh achieved a record number of tourists at 129 million in 2009-10, a 16 per cent growth over last year. The chief minister said with the new initiatives and focused tourism policy, the state would continue to be a preferred destination of both domestic and international tourists and retain its top position.
Stating that the budget allocation had been enhanced to Rs 6.2 crore in 2010-11, Rosaiah said all efforts would be made to get the release of nearly Rs 25 crore due to the state from the Centre.
As part of the state's tourism development policy, proposals are being processed for a total of 43 Jalayagnam (irrigation project) sites into tourism destinations. In Phase-I, 13 locations have been chosen for promotion of tourism infrastructure. Proposals by Flytech Aviation Academy and construction of a heliport at Nagarjunasagar are under active consideration.
