Caravan Tourism is being introduced for destinations where star hotels are not feasible, says Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh.
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh on Wednesday informed the Legislative Council that the State, in the past 15 months, had attracted ₹10,644 crore investments in the tourism sector and signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with 103 companies.
Mr. Durgesh said the government had put in place a comprehensive, balanced, and investment-driven tourism policy that envisions Andhra Pradesh as a tourism hub. He said this was in contradiction with the previous government’s neglect, as “it focused only on a palace project at Rushikonda.”
Currently, the Tourism Department was focused on building circuits, homestays, caravan facilities, tent cities, and developing large-scale eco/adventure tourism hubs with significant private and Central government investments, he said.
Industry status
Pointing out that the tourism sector had been given industry status and the government rolled out the new Tourism Policy 2024–29, the Minister said it offered benefits like capital incentives for investors and power tariff reimbursements, which helped bring in projects worth ₹10,644 crore.
Speaking about plans to expand accommodation facility, he said 15 projects worth ₹3,887 crore would create 2,848 rooms, while 24 DPR-approved projects worth ₹3,668 crore would add 3,164 rooms. “Overall, 8,080 rooms are already in the pipeline, with a target of 50,000 rooms in four years,” he said.
Heli-tourism
The Minister said tourism circuits were being developed with focus on eco, adventure, wellness and heli-tourism across all the regions of the State, and hotels would be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
To give impetus to the sector, regional investor meets were conducted in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati. Under the government’s land allotment policy, special committees were formed and all Tourism Department lands made available online and land parcels being allotted to investors in a transparent way, Mr. Durgesh said.
Homestays
He said under the homestay policy, local houses, heritage structures and traditional buildings would be converted into stays, especially in the rural areas, to attract foreign tourists. Caravan Tourism was being introduced for destinations where star hotels were not feasible, he said.
Published – September 24, 2025 06:28 pm IST
