The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Andhra Pradesh, AP Tourism Department and the Government of AP organised a conference on ‘Destination Vizag – A Hidden Paradise of the East’ yesterday. In attendance were 25 representatives of destination management companies.
Addressing the conference, Collector Pravin Kumar stated that Vizagites were the backbone of city’s development. He acknowledged that the city is resilient and has bounced back pretty quickly after Hudhud. Most of the tourist attractions in the city remain unexplored and he appreciated the efforts of CII is doing their bit to boost tourism through the conference.
Secretary of Tourism, Sreekanth Nagulapalli shared information about the tourist attractions in the state and the state government’s policy in promoting infrastructure in the Tourism sector. He further shared the proposed initiatives put in to promote the city as a destination of hills and beaches. GVMC Commissioner, Hari Narayanan said that the administration was working towards promoting the quality of life for both the citizens and visitors with many projects being taken up with the Smart City Project in mind.
Chairman of CII – AP, Siva Kumar addressed the importance of promoting tourism in Vizag by focusing on its natural beauty. He stated that it was underexposed on the tourism map.
Chairman of the STIC group, Subhash Goyal said that the city’s 1000 KM coastline needs marketing for tourism to improve. He suggested a joint working group to initiate discussion on the Andhra Tourism Mart. He also brought up various policy initiatives the state government could take up to promote tourist arrivals into the state. General Secretary of ADTOI, Chetan Gupta pointed out the need for proper air connectivity, development of package tours and for Tourism Information Offices to be set up in the micro cities.
In attendance were also General Manager of Four Points by Sheration, Aditya Malla and General Manager of The Park, Ajit Garcha, along with a few more eminent people of the tourism sector.
