Seemandhra Protests in Andhra Pradesh, Affects the Tourism Industry Even In This Festive Season

Hyderabad: The tourism sector of the state is observing crisis before the arrival of holiday season, as due to the increasing protests over the partition of Andhra Pradesh.

The experts claimed that it was being considered that there will be improvement in tourism in the region, after the declaration of Telangana, clearing the political crisis in the state which was being experienced since 2009. 

But the situation in the state has remained gloomy, with strong protests against the creation of Telangana in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in August and September.

Rawesh Dawe, vice-president of the city-based Millennium Hotel and joint secretary of Hotels and Restaurant Association of Andhra Pradesh, said, "We had booked a place for an investor's meeting which was going to be to be attended by 40 people. 

However, the conference had to be cancelled as the participants from other parts of the state could not attend the meeting due to the ongoing agitation. Similarly, the hotel industry is also witnessing low business over the past few last years." 

The decrease in tourist arrivals has been clearly seen at the city's chief tourist attractions such as Charminar, Golconda Fort and Qutub Shahi Tombs.

An ASI official stated, "From the time of the commencement of the agitation, there has decreased in tourist arrivals in Charminar. As the place used to get around 4,000 visitors per day, compared to which only 2,000 to 3,000 tourists have been visiting the site for a month now."

He added that the Golconda Fort too was also facing the same situation. Sources state that even other historical monuments such as the Qutub Shahi Tombs; have been low in tourist arrivals. The other parts of the state are also witnessing very less number of domestic tourists.

Kurnool, Krishna, and Mahbubnagar observed a 50% downfall in tourist arrivals, compared to previous year, as according to the statistics available with the tourist department

Officials of the AP Tourist Development Corporation said that the beach resorts in coastal areas have been affected badly with very less number of tourist arrivals, from West Bengal, whereas the inland have not been affected to that length.

"For Dasara, the beach resorts are receiving very less bookings this year compared to the previous year. In order to improve the situation, we recently organized road shows in Calcutta, assuring the people that their trip to the region will be safe," said an APTDC official.

Ref: timesofindia