Minister seeks ideas, investments for tourism development

Visakhapatnam: Tourism Minister M Srinivasa Rao said that Andhra Pradesh, North Andhra in particular, has vast potential for promotion of tourism. Addressing a gathering at the AP Tourism Regional Conference on Promotion of Tourism and Investments at Rushikonda here on Tuesday, he appealed to all stakeholders to come up with ideas for inclusion in the New Tourism Policy of the State government.

The Tourism Minister said that the government was keen on adopting a transparent approach on various projects. While there was nothing wrong in the investors being keen on profits, they should also have the commitment to provide quality service to tourists at a reasonable cost.

The government on its part would also do its bit to provide speedy clearances. AP has the second longest coastline in India, five airports and other amenities and these could be promoted further to attract tourists, he stated. Water sports, Buddhist heritage sites and eco-tourism were some of the areas, which could be explored, the Minister mentioned.

He sought the support of the private stakeholders in terms of transportation, infrastructure, accommodation and other amenities. Minister for Municipal Administration Botcha Satyanarayana alleged that a lot of negative propaganda was being made on the review of Power Purchase Agreements. He reasoned that it was initiated as the previous government had indulged in massive corruption.

Minister for Roads and Buildings Dharmana Krishna Das, Visakhapatnam MP M V V Satyanarayana, Araku MP Madhavi and Tippala Nagi Reddy, VMRDA Chairman Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao, AP Tourism Authority MD Pravin Kumar, GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana, District Collector V Vinay Chand and Divisional Railway Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava were among those spoke.