VIJAYAWADA: For those who want to host parties differently, the AP tourism department will soon launch cruise services on rivers and lakes across the State. In an initiative to boost tourism in the State, the tourism department will introduce special boats and ships.
These cruise services will start their operations on river Krishna and Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Krishnapatnam ports. “One can have a boat ride while enjoying a party or celebrating birthdays or other events,’’ tourism department officials said adding that two private firms have come forward to take up the initiative.
When the issue was taken up with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who reviewed the progress of tourism sector in the State at the sixth meeting of the AP Tourism Culture and Heritage Board on Tuesday, he reportedly gave his nod to the cruise service proposal and wanted the officials to devise the policy in an attractive manner so that it would be a huge success.
Naidu observed that the murky backwaters in Kerala where houseboats are a major tourism attraction play a crucial role in the village economy. “We have our own destinations such as Kolleru and Pulicat, which are pure and clean water bodies. We have to utilise them for introducing houseboats,’’ Naidu said.
Stating that food festivals are a major attractions, Naidu felt that they should be organised during all the major events or festivals in the State. “Food festivals should become an integral part of any major events,’’ he said.
Naidu said 18 tourism events, some of them major ones, will be organised by the government in the next two years. One of them is Visakha Utsav to be held on December 29-30 in Visakhapatnam and another being The Train Story-Vizag will be held in February next year.
Major events