VISHAKAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam sees the highest tourism activity in Andhra Pradesh after Tirumala and attracts 85 per cent of the foreign tourists visiting the State, District Collector Abhishikth Kishore said on Sunday.
Speaking at the ‘Vizag Waves’ programme organised at Dronamraju Circle in Siripuram to mark World Tourism Day, the Collector said more than 10 five-star hotels were under construction in the city.
Mayfair and Oberoi were taking up projects with seven-star facilities, while Westin, Marriott and Taj were constructing new hotels, he said.
He said international investors and experts he met during his US visit had compared Visakhapatnam with Italy’s Amalfi Coast and praised the city for its beauty and cleanliness.
District in-charge Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy said the government was committed to developing Visakhapatnam as a hub for IT, medical tourism and beach tourism. He said the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district had vast tourism potential, from Araku and Paderu Agency to the Buddhist sites in Anakapalli.
He said the Tourism Department, under Minister Kandula Durgesh, was promoting tourism through new policies with the slogan, “No ism... the future is tourism”.
City Police Commissioner Shankha Brata Bagchi suggested promoting Visakhapatnam’s beach tourism at international tourism fairs to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
He said the new airport and improved air connectivity could help strengthen the city’s position on the international tourism map. Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had recently laid the foundation stones for development works worth Rs 4,000 crore in the city.
He said the works included construction of a second road to Kailasagiri, expansion of parking facilities and development of Thotlakonda.
"Steps were being taken to begin work by December on a 200-foot-wide four-lane beach road from Jodugullapalem to Bheemili," he said.
MLC Vepada Chiranjeevi Rao said Visakhapatnam attracted the highest number of tourists in the State. GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg said civic infrastructure in the city would be further improved with the start of the tourism season.
Tourism Department DVM Jagadish, DTO Madhavi, GVMC officials, city representatives, youth and members of the public participated in the event. District Tourism Officer J Madhavi said the walk was organised to introduce the historic importance of old buildings and structures in the Old City to the public.
