Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh, Special Chief Secretary Ajay Jain and APTA Chief Executive Officer AAL Padmavathi at the signing of the agreement with Explurger for the NiVU AI tourist guide, in Amaravati on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a three-year agreement with the Indian travel-tech company Explurger to use its multilingual conversational platform, NiVU AI, at more than 100 tourist places. The Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Minister, Kandula Durgesh, announced the tie-up on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), saying it would make Andhra Pradesh the first State to offer an AI-based guide at its tourist sites.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Amaravati in the presence of Mr. Durgesh, Special Chief Secretary Ajay Jain, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority (APTA) Chief Executive Officer AAL Padmavathi and other senior officials.
Under the agreement, NiVU AI will be introduced at major temples, beaches, forts, heritage monuments and natural attractions over the next three years. Tourists and pilgrims will be able to use the guide by scanning a QR code at each site. It will give information on the history, culture, religious significance and highlights of a place, through voice or text, in more than 130 Indian and international languages, and suggest nearby attractions to suit a visitor’s interests.
The statewide rollout follows the successful pilot implementation at the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple and Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Mangalagiri, where devotees have been using the platform to learn about the temples’ history, traditions and rituals in their preferred language. Officials said the pilot drew good feedback from pilgrims and temple authorities.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Durgesh said Andhra Pradesh’s spiritual, cultural and natural heritage should be easy for visitors from India and abroad to reach. He called the tie-up an important step towards the Swarna Andhra-2047 vision and the State’s lead in AI-based governance. The Minister also shared his personal experience of interacting with NiVU AI in Telugu, praising its accuracy and ability to present heritage information in a meaningful manner.
Special Chief Secretary Ajay Jain said putting AI across major tourist sites would improve the visitor experience and help tourism, letting travellers share authentic stories about the State’s heritage. Officials said the service would be free, and would not need visitors to download an app. The platform will also produce real-time visitor data, including language preferences, frequently asked questions and travel patterns, to help the Tourism Department plan destinations and frame policy.
The government and Explurger will launch NiVU AI at 30 flagship sites in the first year, and extend it to more than 100 by the end of the third year. Officials said the move would support the State Tourism Policy 2024-29 and the Swarna Andhra Vision-2047.
Published – July 07, 2026 05:17 pm IST
