Andhra’s Tourism Gambit: New policy to drive 15% employment growth; investments worth INR 25k targeted
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Kandula Durgesh, Andhra Pradesh's Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Cinematography said that the state’s Tourism Policy 2024-2029 is a milestone move to boost investor confidence and catalyse infrastructure expansion.
With Andhra Pradesh launching its Tourism Policy 2024-2029 last year, the state government has granted “Industry Status” to the tourism and hospitality sector, marking a pivotal shift in its economic strategy. This bold move underscores the sector’s role as a key driver of not just investments and regional development but also job creation.
“Our CM has been emphasising investment growth, infrastructure development, and employment generation, which serve as guiding pillars for our tourism vision. By the end of 2025, we anticipate that tourism will contribute at least 15% to the total employment generation in our state, marking a significant step towards economic growth and sector’s development,” said Kandula Durgesh, Andhra Pradesh's Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Cinematography.
Speaking at the inaugural event of SATTE 2025, the Minister emphasised that Andhra Pradesh's Tourism Policy 2024-29, which grants industry status to tourism and hospitality related activities, is a milestone move to boost investor confidence and catalyse infrastructure expansion.
Key focus areas under the policy include expanding accommodation options to meet growing demand, skill development initiatives to equip the local workforce for tourism and hospitality jobs, enhancing last-mile connectivity to improve access to tourism destinations, sustainable tourism practices integrated into development strategies, anchor hub development through a hub-and-spoke model, ensuring that major tourism centres benefit surrounding areas as well.
Additionally, the government’s focus has also been on advocating youth empowerment, integrating digital advancements and environmental sustainability as key elements of Andhra Pradesh’s tourism strategy.
Further, to cater to the evolving preferences of domestic and international travellers and extend visitor stays, Andhra Pradesh is prioritising a multi-faceted approach. Beyond pilgrimage, the state is particularly focusing on niche tourism sectors such as beach and coastal tourism, leveraging Andhra’s extensive coastline, wellness and medical tourism, promoting Ayurveda and holistic healing centres, film tourism, seaplane and ecotourism for adventure and nature-based tourism and rural tourism.
Massive investment push & PPP model
The Andhra Pradesh government has adopted a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to drive tourism projects and attract investments, thereby elevating tourism’s contribution to the state’s Gross Value Added (GVA) from 4.6% to 8% and its share in employment from 12% to 15%. The state has set an ambitious target of mobilising INR 25,000 crores in private investments to enhance tourism infrastructure and services, said Durgesh.
Also, the plans are afoot to add 50,000 hotel rooms, attracting investment through land incentives for hospitality chains.
Emphasising “Public-private partnership is the way forward,” the Minister, making a strong call to action, extended a global invitation to international investors, hospitality brands, and tourism stakeholders to explore opportunities in Andhra Pradesh.
“Our state is ideally positioned to shape the future of tourism, with its blend of rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, and progressive policies. We welcome investors, tourists, and stakeholders to Andhra Pradesh from across the world to contribute to state’s growth story. Come and experience our culture, traditions, our hospitality, and the breathtaking natural beauty,” he said, concluding his speech.