The Hindu Business Line : Call to develop tourism infrastructure in Vizag

Growth plans Visakhapatnam has great potential as a tourist destination. Out of the 984-km coast line, Visakhapatnam district has 144 km. Several new projects were coming up here and Vizag was developed as an IT hub, which would have great impact on the tourism sector.

Visakhapatnam , May 26

Visakhapatnam needs better air connectivity and other infrastructure to attract large-scale investment in the tourism sector, Mr G. Venkataram Reddy, Vice-Chairman of the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, has said.

He was speaking at the tourist resort of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation at Rushikonda on Friday after inaugurating a seminar on "Investment opportunities in tourism sector in Andhra Pradesh." It was organised by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci).

The seminar was scheduled to be inaugurated by the Minister for Tourism and Industries, Dr J. Geetha Reddy. She, however, could not land in Visakhapatnam airport due to poor visibility and adverse weather conditions. The flight was cancelled and Mr Reddy had to take her place.

"Of course, Vizag has great potential as a tourist destination. Out of the 984-km coast line, Visakhapatnam district has 144 km. It is a great advantage. But tourism is still in a nascent stage here. We need to have a better airport and better connectivity to attract foreign tourists," he said.

He said several new projects were coming up here and Vizag was developed as an IT hub. It would have great impact on the tourism sector. Mr C.V. Atchut Rao, president of Fapcci, said the Vizag-Bheemli road-widening should be accelerated to facilitate tourism promotion in the district. He sought more incentives from the State Government to the tourism sector.

Mr Shiv Kumar Rungta, Chairman, Tourism Development Committee of the Fapcci, said tourism accounted for 10.4 per cent of the global GDP and 8.1 per cent of the employment. Therefore, he pleaded, the Government should rationalise the tax structure and offer as many incentives as possible to the sector.

He said the tourism policy formulated by the State Government in 1986 had expired in 2003 and a new one was long overdue. He expressed the hope that it would be finalised soon and new areas such as medical , eco and ethnic tourism would be given due importance.

Mr A. Subba Rao, Vice-President, FAPCCI, proposed a vote of thanks.

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