They say ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ and this perfectly defines Ms Bhuma Akhila Priya – the youngest and dynamic minister in the cabinet of Chief Minister
N. Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, who is striving to position ‘Andhra Tourism’ at the top. During my interaction with her, I got to know how dedicated she is. Despite her very busy schedule (preparing for her wedding on Aug 29th) she never missed a chance to speak about her vision for Tourism Andhra Pradesh.
As she says ‘You can define tourism in many ways; but for us, tourism is a way of creating infrastructure, generating employment and enhancing the living standard of our people.’ She also revealed that in last four years tourism in Andhra Pradesh has grown by leaps and bounds, and gearing up to achieve a significant progress in the field sooner or later. Since it’s a new state, host of projects are under development which will be grounded in a year or so.
Well, I need to elaborate on her profile which is quite impressive. Currently holding the profile of Tourism Minister, she has been included in the cabinet on 2nd April 2017. A Bachelor of Business Management Ms Priya represents Allagadda Assembly Constituency in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. She joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) along with her father late Mr Bhuma Nagireddy on 22nd February 2016.
Q. What is the tourism potential of the state of Andhra Pradesh?
AP. As you know it’s a new state and after creation of Telangana a lot more have changed Andhra Pradesh. We can say that we are starting from the scratch, so there is a lot of scope to develop tourism and other industries at its best. Before making of Telangana, tourism in Andhra Pradesh was only restricted to Hyderabad and Charminar, and other beautiful sites of the states were not explored.
However, apart from Hyderabad and Charminar which has gone to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has so much to offer to all kind of travellers. I would say one visit is not enough to experience Andhra Pradesh you need to come again and again. Our Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu has his own vision to develop tourism in all thirteen districts of the state.
I feel proud to share with you that each district of our state has unique tourism spots, actually in terms of tourism Andhra Pradesh is a combination of so many things. In Visakhapatnam we have beaches, Araku Valley is a very popular hill station of our state, Lambasingi is a place where temperature goes to minus degree and we call it Andhra’s Kashmir. Another district Kurnool – from where I belong, boasts prestigious temples like Ahobilam, Mahanandi, Yaganti and Srisaila Devasthanam. Similarliy in Chittoor district you have Balaji Temple and Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. So when we talk about tourism, each district of our state has unique places to explore.
Apart from visiting destinations, we have so many things to do like shopping; we have handmade toys, Kupwara sarree and sculpture. I am proud to share with you that the Geographical Identity (G.I.) status has given to Allagadda Sculpture – which is in my constituency. Even such things are being promoted very aggressively.
Q. Being a tourism minister what is your vision? What do you think about tourism?
AP. Our vision for tourism is very high; we wish to showcase the world what actually Andhra Pradesh stands for. You can define tourism in many ways; but for us, tourism is a way of creating infrastructure, generating employment and enhancing the living standard of our people. All the travellers who come to our state must go back with good experience and lifelong memories. To create that kind of atmosphere whatever is required from our side, we are at the service.
The vision of Andhra Pradesh tourism is to serve as a guiding force that offers a clear vision and direction for optimizing the tourism potential of this state in a sustainable manner. Our Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu is very ambitious about the growth of tourism. Earlier tourism used to be part of CM’s profile, but just to expedite the growth of this sector, he appointed a minister to look after the progress, and encourage more investment to the state.
So, the way he has made Hyderabad known to the world, his vision is to develop Visakhapatnam as the IT and tourism hub of the state. Another district Anantapur (officially Anantapuramu) – very well known for Lepakshi, will be developed for various activities like Racing Track etc. Cities will have their own identity and atmosphere which will be no less than Hyderabad and Charminar. We have a vision to bring each district of our state of our state on global map of tourism.
Q. Some of the Indian states are well established in tourism sector, they have their USP’s, for example Rajasthan have forts and palaces, Kerala known for backwaters, Goa for beaches etc. so what would be your USP? Which are the brands, Andhra Pradesh would be known for?
AP. When you talk about other states like Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra etc. they are already developed and established, whereas ours a newly born state; just four year old. Though in past four years we have achieved lot many things but when you compare with other states, definitely we have a long way to go.
The answer to your question about the USP of our state, Andhra Pradesh is a combination of so many things – beaches, wildlife, hill stations, divine destinations, heritage spots, tribal tourism and health tourism, you name it we have it. And the icing on the cake is our climate – which is very pleasant.
Visakhapatnam and Anantapur will be developed as a world city to facilitate tourism and related business. Amravati – the capital in making is a very prestigious place for us. This is the place where Buddhism was born, and unfortunately people are not aware of this. So this is one of the segments we are going to promote in a bigger way. We have more than hundred of places that belong to Buddhism. Just to promote this segment, we had organised a festival in Amravati where more than 2000 monks came from various countries.
So we are expecting, after seeing these beautiful sites of our state the delegates will spread good words and would be like our brand ambassador in promoting Buddhism in their respective countries. Our target markets would be Sri Lanka, Mayanmar, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore and Japan etc.
Second thing is Tirumala (known for Venkateswara Temple), as you know that Tirumala is the highest visited tourism place in our country. People come in the morning for Darshnam and go back in the evening. So we are coming up with proper infrastructure where people can stay at least for one night and explore the nearby places which will be a huge advantage for us. We have already spoken to our Chief Minister and convinced him to set up some five stars and budget accommodations along with amusement parks etc to make it more attractive and engaging.
Near Tirupati we are creating infrastructure where people can come and stay for a couple of days. This is the kind of planning we are doing. Within a year you will see a lot of developments in Andhra Pradesh these are just two examples.
Apart from this we are concentrating on Medical Tourism. While discussing with the Health Department they suggested that Araku’s climate is the best for anyone to get treated. According to them, people who get operated in Delhi or Mumbai can spend a couple of weeks in Araku, Visakhapatnam and Horsley Hills for fast recovery. So we are targeting such promotions as well.
We are promoting home stays for Tribal Tourism. Visitors will be encouraged to visit Tribal area where they will be welcomed by the villagers and stay with them to have a unique experience. This is very interesting project we are working at the moment.
ARAKU COFFEE
Many people are not aware that apart from being the fascinating hill station of Andhra, Araku produces a kind of coffee as good as any other brand of the world. “The project – Araku Coffee is very close to my heart, and we are aggressively working to make it a brand as popular as the Darjiling Tea. I myself don’t drink coffee at all but having tested the Araku Coffee I really fell in love. And I am happy to share with y
ou that our CM Chandrababu Naidu Garu has adopted the Araku Area.” About 90 per cent of the total Araku Coffee production is exported to countries like Sweden, Switzerland, Dubai and Italy.
“So going ahead and promoting Araku through its coffee, Andhra Pradesh Tourism has ventured with the SpiceJet to create awareness about Araku Coffee. All the passengers entering in Andhra Pradesh through SpiceJet will be served Araku Coffee for free along with a scratch card. The winners will be given a holiday to Visakhapatnam or Araku,” she informed.
Q. So would you like to throw some light on your future plans to create awareness among domestic and foreign travellers?
AP. Last year we had organised many festivals –Araku Baloon Festival, Sounds on Sands, Social Media Award Summit etc. to make our people get involved with us, as to create tourism friendly atmosphere participation of local people is vital.
We are organising events (B2B) not only in Andhra but in other states – like Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala etc. as well. I believe this will attract people’s attention and create awareness about our tourism and culture among the large number of domestic travellers. I wish our country must know what Andhra Pradesh has to offer. Domestic tourist from Odhisa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka, Kerala etc must consider our state for their holiday and vacations. Once the footfalls from domestic segment go up, we will go to promote ourselves in foreign countries very aggressively.
Q. Well it seems that the Government of Andhra Pradesh is very proactive, but what about the Public Private Partnership (PPP)? How are you going ahead with this model?
AP. Public Private Partnership is being focused by our Chief Minister very aggressively. We are looking for investment, and to facilitate our investors we are ready to go an extra mile. Quite impressive numbers of investors have shown their interest to invest in Andhra Pradesh. We have interacted and invited them to come and experience our administration. As we know inventors’ only concern is the policy and the governance we are ready to make it a good experience
for them.
Also, having Chandrababu Naidu Garu on our side sends a positive message of good governance, which makes investor confident to set up their projects. I would like to share with you that there was a small issue with the policy which I have brought in the knowledge of my chief minister which he agreed to amend with the immediate impact. We don’t want the investors have any issue with the policy or administration in our state. As I told you, AP is no one in ease-of-doing business. I myself sit with the investors and clear all the doubts they have. This is the kind of interest we are taking in putting our projects forward.
Q. Where do you see Andhra Pradesh in next two years?
AP. As our visionary Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Garu says we don’t take any number than number one. We should strive to become first of the top states in terms of tourist footfalls and facilities. Frankly speaking, we are on the verge of achieving so many things in a very short span of time. In ease-of-doing-business we are number one, which will make our way to be top in other segments as well. In last four years tourism in Andhra Pradesh has grown by leaps and bounds and gearing up to achieve significant progress in the field due to a many encouraging factors.
Like I said, we are a newly born state and there are a number of projects under development pipeline which will be grounded in a year or so. Andhra Pradesh has vast geographical area combined with great historical and cultural heritage, which are excellent conditions for more growth in this sector.
Q. How do you look at travel trade events IATO Convention?
AP. As I already mentioned each district of the state has its own beauty and destinations to offer to the world. However, people still think that AP means Hyderabad; we have to change that perception by creating awareness about our destinations which are not explored yet. So promoting these destinations would be a huge task for us and we believe that such events can create huge awareness among industry stakeholders.
