AP Tourism plans intl beach resort

Identifies locations in Chennai-Nellore stretch

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) is planning to develop an international beach resort in the Chennai-Nellore stretch.

Disclosing this here today, C Anjaneya Reddy, chairman of APTDC, said the corporation has already identified a couple of locations suitable for developing the project.

"We want to develop a beach resort with international features which will be just around one-and-a-half hours drive from Chennai. Our idea is to package the resort with the Pulicat Lake, a famous bird sanctuary, so that the international tourists can have enjoy bird watching during their stay," Reddy told Business Standard.

The corporation aims to tap the opportunities by locating the beach resort closer to Chennai which has international airport and is also an attractive destination for foreign tourists.

According to him, there is a clear need for a beach resort in the Chennai-Nellore seacoast stretch where no beaches have been developed so far. "At present, we find tourist beaches situated only south of Chennai. There is not a single beach for tourists towards north of Chennai," he said.

The eastern coast of the country has natural disadvantages like steep depths near the shores as compared to gradual slopes on the western coast, which makes identifying an ideal beach a difficult proposition, Reddy said.

According to him, Union tourism minister Renuka Choudhary too is on the lookout for places to develop beach resorts along the eastern coast. Recently, Choudhary did an aerial survey from Puri to Kakinada for the same purpose, he said.

Reddy, who transformed APTDC, which was on the verge of closure three years back under the public sector reform programme, into a successful business model with innovative package tours by developing own transport network, says much more needs to be done to increase the flow of foreign tourists into the state.

"The state government should immediately do away with the Urban Land Ceiling Act which has become a big stumbling block in the way of new star hotels and malls from coming up. In Hyderabad alone, there is an urgent need of over 1,000 three-star rooms. Even before the construction of the greenfield international airport, the number of international flights being introduced to this city is fast increasing. Every couple of international flights arriving here can fill one star hotel if available," he said, adding that the immediate decision in this regard should be taken in view of the proposed completion of international airport in 2008.

The issue, which will become a major irritant in attracting national and foreign tourists to the state, according to him, is the moral policing by the police.

"Policemen have no business to raid restaurants and harass the managements just because they don't shut their shops before 11 pm," he said.

---

Beach bliss

• To package the resort with Pulicat Lake, a famous bird sanctuary, so that tourists can enjoy bird watching during their stay
• To tap the opportunities by locating the resort closer to Chennai "� just one-and-a-half hour drive from the city