HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh is betting big on tourism. But Telangana seems to be far behind in the race to attract tourists. Figures tabled in the Rajya Sabha reveal that among 35 states and Union territories, while AP stands third in attracting domestic tourists, Telangana occupies a disappointing 30th position.

Increased air connectivity, temple tourism and national and international events have made AP the hot spot not only for domestic tourists but for foreign tourists. Figures show that the state has witnessed a 20 per cent rise in domestic tourist arrivals against 71 per cent rise in foreign tourist arrivals between 2013 and 2015. Whereas, Telangana has registered a meagre one percent rise in domestic arrivals during the same period. What’s worse, Telangana witnessed 19 per cent din in number of foreign tourist arrivals.

Religious tourism continues to rule the roost in AP. However, experts cite that heritage spots too have emerged as a major attraction. “While the Tirumala temple continues to attract chunk of tourists from across the country, Visakhapatnam and its surrounding areas are also gaining popularity among tourists from West Bengal and Odisha. This is due to reasonable packages offered in their leave travel allowances for destinations in AP,” said Laxminarayana, consultant (tourism) in AP government.

Officials attribute low footfall in Telangana to lack of awareness among tourists. “People are not aware of the tourist destinations in Telangana. While AP has Tirumala, people are not aware that Yadagirigutta has shaped up as a major religious tourism destination,” said Sunita Bhagwat , commissioner of tourism department, Telangana.

The Telangana tourism department is now gearing to improve the footfalls in the next few years. “We have conducted 12 road shows in various states to promote tourism spots in Telangana. Apart from this, we are also tying up with tour operators and travel writers to attract more tourists in the state,” said Bhagwat, adding that a draft tourism policy is also submitted to the state government and is expected to be released this year.

The department is also coming up with a eco-tourism circuit at seven locations --Mulugu-Gattamma temple area, Laknavaram lake, Medaram Gaddelu, Tadvai forest area, Damaravai Megalithic structures and Mallur temple in Warangal district with financial assistance from the Union government.

At the international level, Hyderabad will also host Skal World Congress, 2017 between October 5 and 9. SKAL is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. tourist arrivals.

