Andhra Pradesh bagged the top honour at the National Tourism Awards 2017-18, which were presented by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday.

A total of 76 awards were given under various categories this year.

Andhra Pradesh bagged the Best State award for overall growth in tourism category.

Goa and Madhya Pradesh were the joint winners in the Adventure Tourism category and Uttarakhand won the award for the Best Film Promotion-Friendly State. Telangana won the award for the Best State for the innovative use of IT.

Speaking at the awards ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan here, Mr. Naidu said doing business in India has become easier and more tourists are visiting the country.

“Earlier businesses were caught in red tape. Now tourists get a red carpet welcome in India,” he said.

Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel and Secretary-General of World Tourism Organisation Zurab Pololikashvili were also present on the occasion.