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Visakhapatnam: Domestic tourist footfall in Andhra Pradesh has increased to 1,218.3 lakh in 2015 as against 933 lakh in 2014, thereby registering a growth of 30 per cent, Neerabh Kumar Prasad, principal secretary of tourism and culture, said."In our endeavour to make Andhra Pradesh as India's most preferred tourist destination, this data comes to us as a great encouragement. Under the leadership of our chief minister and with a focused strategy in place, we are hopeful of this growth momentum to be replicated year after year. We will continue to invest and focus to develop tourism of global standard in Andhra Pradesh," a press release issued by Prasad said.Anantapur district which houses the famous Puttaparthi and Lord Veerbhadra Temple at Lepakshi, became the most visited destination by foreign tourists with a footfall of 1.37 lakh foreigners. Among international tourist arrivals, 2.37 lakh tourists visited the state during 2015 as against 66,333 in 2014. Majority of the foreign tourists were from the Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Middle East such as Dubai.Dr RP Khajuria, commissioner, department of tourism, said, "Andhra Pradesh is one of the few states in India which has such a rich diversity in terms of tourism and has the capacity to attract tourists across all age groups. The potential that lies ahead for the state is vast and these numbers are testimonial to the fact that increasing number of tourists both in India and abroad are realising what the state can offer."Andhra Pradesh also witnessed large number of footfall from business travellers owing to its strong focus on being an ideal investment destination and creating a conducive environment for doing business, he said.