A Study on Significance of Travel & Tourism in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

This paper appreciates tourism among other economic sectors as a veritable economic industry that can transform the socio-economic lives of a people that are faced with low per capita income, unemployment, poverty and economic malaise only if the tourism potential resources are identified, harnessed, developed and packaged into a tourist product. The paper sees tourism development and promotion as a way of diversifying the nation’s mono cultural economy. The challenges here are not connected with those of unawareness of the large population, lack of leisure time and disposable income, security, financial and economic fraud, poor planning of the sector, non regulation and uncoordinated approach to tourism matters by the public sector to encourage the private sector especially in pursuit of tourism organisation, development, accessibility, marketing, capacity building, investment, information, funding and legislation among others. The paper also examined prospects of diversifying the industry identifying conducive environment created through the institutional structures to

harness the available mass tourism resources in the country, the formulated tourism policy and the development master plan, widespread investments in the travel, hospitality and tourism outfits, attitude of Indians towards holiday and travels, existence of political and legislative instruments to fast track tourism programme  implementation. The paper concludes that tourism if developed will add value to the national economy through job creation, foreign exchange generation hence solving most social, economic and political problems. Consequently, the paper recommends that despite all the government’s efforts in transforming the tourism industry and the economy, it need a strong political will that shall pursue the backing and funding of the tourism policy.