Tourist inflows to hit a new high in Vizag; hotels full
The district administration, particularly the tourism department is in a jubilant mood as it is expecting more tourists to visit the city and its surroundings this tourist season which began on Friday and closes with Sankranthi.
Visakhapatnam: The district administration, particularly the tourism department is in a jubilant mood as it is expecting more tourists to visit the city and its surroundings this tourist season which began on Friday and closes with Sankranthi.
`All the APTDC hotels in Araku, Ananthagiri, Rushikonda and near Lumbini Park are reporting full and this occupancy will continue till mid-January next year till the end of Sankranthi holidays,’’ said executive director of the corporation M Sreeramulu Naidu.
The star hotels and economy hotels in city and in Araku have also been booked in advance. This year the new beach resort at Thotlakonda beach and aircraft museum close to INS Kursura Museum will be new attractions.
The tourists will be visiting Araku taking a ride in the Vistadome, Katitiki water falls in the agency, Simhachalam temple, RK Beach, Kursura Museum, Kailasagiri Hill, Buddhist shrine at Thotlakonda, water front at Rushikonda, Yarada Park, Tenneti Park, Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Eco-tourism park at Kambalakonda and Dutch Cemetery at Bhimili.
All the resorts including railway station and Airport are being spruced up for the season.The department is also organising some events to attract the tourists beginning September 27 and closing on October 2. It is even proposed to organise cultural programmes including Dhimsa dance in all the star hotels and those owned by APTDC to popularise the tribal dance form originating from the agency tracts, Naidu said.
The tourist flow in the mid summer was also impressive with more footfalls despite sultry weather conditions.In May alone 76,000 tourists visited Borra Caves, which earned a revenue of Rs 50 lakh.
Of the total tourists expected this season, around 25 per cent would be from West Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh and the remaining from the State and Telangana. The APTDC also held road shows in different parts of the country to popularise the city.
By KMP Patnaik
