Joy Roy Choudhury – Kolkata
Telangana has drawn up a slew of packages covering forts, palaces, wildlife, temples, eco-tourism, film tourism and medical tourism to attract tourists. Telangana has put stress on tourism promotion and over the last two years has focused on tourist infrastructure development. Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Dr Christina Z Chongthu, managing director, Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) and commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Telangana highlighted the state’s offerings. She said, “At present we are running 29 ‘Haritha’ branded mid-sized budget hotels, which we have developed in different parts of the state for the benefit of the budget tourists. We are also running a plush hotel called The Plaza at Begumpet in the heart of Hyderabad.
The state looks to promote tourism by participating in travel and tourism fairs promotional campaigns. TSTDC has also introduced leisure cruises and water sports boats at different lakes and rivers in the state to promote water-tourism. Chongthu commented, “We have introduced a unique ‘Hop on Hop Off’ tour in air-conditioned buses, which takes tourists around Hyderabad. Recently we have introduced one high-end customer oriented ‘Caravan’ vehicle to introduce ‘Caravan Tourism’. Tourists can book the vehicle at INR 25 per km and go wherever they feel like. We plan to introduce more such vehicles following the response we get.”
TSTDC is also also promoting Hyderabad as a MICE destination and we has formed Hyderabad Convention Visitors Bureau (HCVB), to cater to conferencing needs of clients. “Be it a small conference of an intimate group, a mid-size meeting of industry professionals or a mega conference of 5000 delegates from around the world, HCVB is equipped to handle meetings or conventions of any size. Besides, we are also promoting the state as an ideal health-tourism destination, as we have two Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals and several National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABHHP) accredited hospitals in the state,” stated Chongthu.
Additionally, The Buddha Vanam tourism project is coming up on 274 acres of land near Nagarjunasagar and once the development is completed, it is expected emerge as an important global site for Buddhist pilgrimage. A 27-feet statute of Lord Buddha, gifted by the Sri Lankan government, would be erected at the project site.