Mana Andhra...........

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tirupati 

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Sri Kalyana Venkateswaraswami temple is at Srinivasa Mangapuram situated 12 km to the west of Tirupati

 

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kanipakam temple

 

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srikalahasti temple

 

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kapileswara swamy temple

 

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narayanavanam

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mandapeta 

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Uncertainty looms large over prospects of various sectors in the event of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. If there is one sector in Seemandhra that stands to gain by the division, it is tourism sector.

The coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have a clear edge over Telangana which has only a few heritage sites in Hyderabad and Warangal to fall back on. Most of the revenue-generating tourist hotspots are scattered across Seemandhra region, be it the Araku-Visakhapatnam, Simhachalam, Tirupati, Horsely Hills and most importantly the extended coastline.

“Bifurcation will certainly have an impact on tourism sector and Seemandhra will gain an upper hand because of the long coastline that offers high potential to develop beach resorts that can turn tourist hotspots,” says an official associated with the Tourism Corporation.

“The coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh, despite having high potential for tourist destinations, has always been neglected by successive governments. Now that the division seems imminent, the Government should announce a special package for development of tourist sector in this region. A lot of attractive features can be added along the 1,000-km long coastline from Srikakulam to Nellore,” says Vijayawada Hotel Owners Association president K. Pattabhi Ram.

Listing the places that have high tourism potential, he cites examples of backwaters of Konaseema that can be developed on the lines of Kerala. Places including Vizianagaram that are a treasure trove of culture and history, the Buddhist sites in Krishna and Guntur districts and the Chandragiri Fort in Chittoor are the other ones.

“There is a wide scope to develop wildlife tourism in Pulikat Lake in Nellore, the Kolleru Lake in Krishna and West Godavari districts. “Beautiful hill stations can be groomed at Araku in Visakhapatnam and at Horsely Hills at Madanapalle in Chittoor district. Under temple tourism, apart from Tirupati and Kanakadurga temples, there are a good number of important ancient temples that are in a neglected state.

Sources in the Tourism Corporation indicate that things are moving at a fast pace for launch of the proposed beach corridor from Visakhapatnam to Bhimili and tenders have been called for development of RK Beach and Rishikonda.

As far as Kondapalli mega tourism circuit is concerned, there are gaps in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) which are being looked into, according to the source.

Keywords: Andhra Pradesh tourism, Telangana formation, AP bifurcation, VIjayawada tourism sector, Vijayawada tourist spots

 

 

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Seemandhra to outshine Telangana in tourism

TNN | Aug 7, 2013, 03.34 AM IST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VISAKHAPATNAM: If there is one sector in Seemandhra that stands to gain immensely from the bifurcation, it is tourism as coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have an edge over Telangana. As apart from Hyderabad and Warangal, almost all the other revenue-generating tourist hotspots, including Araku-Visakhapatnam, Simhachalam, Tirupati and Horsley Hills, are in Seemandhra. But this would largely hinge on the ability of Seemandhra to develop the sector with the help of a new and dynamic tourism development corporation and administrative department. 


Mooting the need for a separate tourism board and corporation, environmentalist Sohan Hatangadi said, "The bifurcation offers great opportunity to coastal Andhra, especially Vizag to develop its tourism sector. It's one of the very few places in the country that has the seas, hills and forests as well as heritage tourism sites. We have an international airport and a beautiful landscape. In fact, the new Telangana state would lose out on tourism revenue as it is now left only with Hyderabad." "Coastal AP needs to develop a professional approach and equip the tourism sector with tech-savvy staff. The Union minister of state for tourism has also announced Rs 500 crore for the development of tourism in the state, with a major thrust on developing a beach corridor in Vizag and coastal areas. The need of the hour is a decision-making body and a separate tourism development corporation with a new MD and secretary for Seemandhra region since currently all the decision-makers are in Hyderabad, which wields a lot of clout," Hatangadi added. 

The need for a separate tourism board and corporation was also echoed by tour operators who agreed that coastal Andhra now stands a very good chance of emerging as the prominent tourism hub in the state. B R Kumar from Travel Home averred, "There would be more pressure to develop the region once it becomes an independent unit with a new capital, which would also be developed in various aspects. So stakeholders would be more interested in investing in the area in the form of hotels, resorts and leisure facilities where picturesque nature offers a scope to generate revenue. Sometime ago, the Centre had also floated a package for Vizag and the coastal belt to develop tourism here. So the bifurcation wouldn't adversely affect our tourism sector, rather we would be the gainers," he said. 

However, tourism officials are a bit sceptical about new projects taking off till some solution is arrived at on the bifurcation fiasco. 

"Bifurcation means we will have to start from the scratch, which is going to be a cumbersome process. We need to come up with a separate functional unit for administrative purpose, which would take time. The sooner clarity emerges in the prevailing political situation, the better for the tourism sector. However, from the revenue point of view, we will definitely not be losing out," said district tourism officer S D Anita.