Tourist places in Andhra Pradesh to reopen to public soon

All tourist places in Andhra Pradesh are set to reopen to the public from 1 August 2020 after months of the shutdown, Minister of Tourism Culture and Youth Advancement of Andhra Pradesh, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao made the announcement on Tuesday in a meeting with Tourism and Culture Department officials. The Minister also announced that new Seven and Five-Star hotels will be constructed in the state on a Public-Private partnership basis to promote tourism.

Elaborating on the AP state’s move, the Minister stated that all tourist places in Andhra Pradesh were closed for travellers since March 2020, following the centre’s instructions to curb the spread of COVID-19. Minister Srinivasa Rao revealed that the state has faced losses of Rs. 60 crore so far due to the shut down of tourist attractions in AP. Citing neighbouring Telangana State’s example where tourism has opened up, Minister Srinivasa Rao said that Andhra Pradesh too will be following suit from 1 August onwards. He said that the next fifteen days will be a buffer time for all Tourism Department employees and officials to ready the locations and be prepared to receive tourists again.

Speaking about the new upcoming hotels in the state, the Minister of Tourism stated that all districts in AP must be accessible for tourists going forward. He announced that a high-level meeting to discuss the same will be arranged with the District authorities of all thirteen districts in AP via video conferencing.

Making more announcements during his address to the media, M Srinivasa Rao also revealed that the State Government has been considering the creation of new districts in Andhra Pradesh, in line with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s promises. The government plans to name a new district, which will be formed in Visakhapatnam, in the honour of India’s revolutionary leader Alluri Sitarama Raju.