Visakhapatnam has vast tourism potential: Andhra CM

Visakhapatnam, Jan 3: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said Visakhapatnam has the potential to become a major tourism spot for domestic as well as foreign travellers.

Addressing a gathering at the ongoing 'Visakha Utsav' at Ramakrishana beach this evening, he said tourism was an important sector for development and employment generation.

"Visakhapatnam has a lot of potential for tourism development as the city has natural beaches on one side and beautiful hills on the other," he said.

It has capacity to draw domestic as well as foreign holiday-makers, the Chief Minister said. The port city's greenery and infrastructure were damaged in the Hudhud cyclone of 2014, but it has now got back to its original shape, thanks to the efforts of the local people and administration, Naidu said.

He said the state government was according priority to development of the new capital city Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati. Naidu said Dubai has emerged as a model for tourism development.

"Dubai was once a desert. Now it attracts people from all over the world. Every two months, they conduct events like food/shopping festivals and other entertainment programmes to attract tourists," he said.

Naidu asked the state ministers hailing from the district and the local administration to conduct regular tourism-related programmes. The government is also developing Visakhapatnam as an IT hub in a big way. He said the city will hold an investor summit from January 10 to 13 in which 1,000 to 1,500 delegates from all over the country and abroad will take part.

The city, where the Eastern Naval Command has its headquarters, will also host the International Fleet Review in February. Earlier, the Chief Minister felicitated popular singer S P Balasubrahmanyam for his contributions to the film industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Balasubrahmanyam lauded Naidu's commitment towards development of the state. It was everyone's responsibility to support a government which is striving hard for welfare of the people.

PTI