HYDERABAD: The government on Wednesday gave the go ahead for the creation of Telangana Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), but experts said it has a monumental task ahead of it as tourism in the region lags behind Seemandhra in terms of revenue. The TTDC is expected to start functioning from June 2 on wards.
Undivided Andhra Pradesh has seen a constant yearly increase in domestic tourist arrivals in the last decade. The number of tourists breached the 20 crore mark in 2012, a year which also saw a surge in tourists in Telangana which till then had borne the brunt of the intense Telangana agitation. Out of the nearly 20.5 crore arrivals in 2012, Seemandhra played host to 11.5 crore tourists. The trend continued in 2013 as well, officials said.
“Most tourists head for Visakhapatnam, Araku and the beaches of East and West Godavari. A good percentage of people heading for Kerala and Goa have been known to make stops in coastal Andhra owing to the promotional activities of APTDC. Also, Tirupati and Bhadrachalam are major temple destinations attracting a large chunk of travellers,” said Hemanth T Pandey of RK Tours and Travels.
The disparity in tourist inflows also showcases itself in the revenue collections. Nearly 65 per cent of APTDC’s revenue, largely earned from its hotel and tour packages, is generated in coastal Andhra. In Telangana, its Hyderabad and Warangal which make up the bulk of tourism revenue, officials said.
“There are many challenges before the TTDC. Though there are several sites in the region, these have to be aggressively promoted,” “Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati belt are major revenue earners,”
said a tourism department official.
However, the new state may get some relief as the tourism department is currently working on modalities to share the revenue earnings from tours starting from Hyderabad to Seemandhra. “Many tours to Vizag and Tirupati originate from Hyderabad. We are working on how the revenue can be shared between the regions,” a department source said, adding that a consultant has been hired for the purpose. But it is unsure how long such an arrangement can last. “Once a new state is created and a new airport is promoted like the one in Hyderabad, tourists may not make the transit via Hyderabad,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the priority for Seemandhra would be to improve its foreign tourist arrivals. Around 3 lakh foreigners visited Andhra Pradesh annually in the last three years, which is a decline from the arrivals witnessed before 2009 when the Telangana agitation intensified. As of now, Hyderabad is the biggest contributor of foreign tourist revenues.
Huge challenges ahead for new Telangana tourism corporation
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