Stakeholders urge Andhra Pradesh govt to examine tourism policies of other states to attract investors

Stakeholders in the Andhra Pradesh tourism sector, including infrastructure developers and entrepreneurs, have suggested the state government to study the tourism policies of states like Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat before announcing its tourism policy.

Tours and Travels Association of Andhra Pradesh chairman O. Naresh Kumar said, “The government should adopt the best policies of Odisha, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The policies of these states attract investors. Andhra Pradesh can adopt some of their best policies. It should adopt Zero Cost Entry (ZCE) guidelines in its policies.”

As per the ZCE policy, the government should waive registration charges for land or property of the project. Similarly, there should be no land conversion charges, plan approval charges and vacant land taxes. Energy escrow charges can be paid in 12 installments after commencement of production. Municipal taxes can be waived for the first two years after commencement of the project. State GST should also be waived for three years and if required Central GST too. All approvals like no objection certificate will be issued free of cost, he added.

“There should be a single window system for investors in the tourism sector. All approvals should be given within 15 days. This will attract investors to the state,” said Mr. Naresh Kumar.

According to Tourism Department officials, the state has great potential in every aspect. Steps need to be taken to create a unique tourist attraction like Kerala (for Ayurvedic tourism), Goa (for beach tourism), Gujarat (for forest tourism), Tamil Nadu (for temple tourism) and Rajasthan (for palace tourism), they said

“We have many assets like beaches, vast coastline, temples, forests, rivers and ancient caves like Borra Caves and Belum Caves and also Buddha statues. Unfortunately, we have shown our tourist data including the visitors to Tirumala temple. This should not be done. Instead, every district of the state must have a tourist spot,” said Mr. Naresh Kumar