Inbound

Andhra Pradesh Tourism board hits road

Andrea Lopez - Mumbai

Balasubramanyam Reddy

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Board recently organised a road show in the city to educate the trade about its latest products. Speaking on the occasion was M Balasubramanyam Reddy, joint director, department of tourism, Andhra Pradesh, who said, "We are very pleased that Andhra Pradesh is emerging as an all-encompassing tourist destination."

The state is keen on venturing into the business of cruise tourism and plans to start cruises from Vishakapatnam to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. "We are working closely with our neighbours, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to sketch out a joint plan," said Balasubramanyam. Apart from this, the state is closely looking at developing religious, Buddhist and beach circuits for which the ministry of tourism has already allotted Rs 2.8 crore.

Being the first state in India to have introduced the concept of 'tourist police' in 2001 (involving the deputation of police in major tourist areas to eradicate the problem of touts), Andhra Pradesh is looking at taking this even further by providing language and etiquette training to taxi drivers, porters and bellboys. A premier institute called the National institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (NITHM) has been also been recently set up in the state to improve the quality of tour guides and escorts.

It's most ambitious project - a luxury train called Southern Splendour - is slated to commence operations in the next 18 months. Working on a Rs 40 crore budget from the government, the train will chug through the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. With all these plans, the board is looking to expand its network of travel agents and tour operators in Mumbai. "We are also working closely with various airlines to design more economical tour packages," concluded Balasubramanyam.