HYDERABAD: At a time when the Telangana agitation has paralysed normal life, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) launched a series of programmes to attract tourists to the State in general and the City in particular here on Tuesday on the occasion of World Tourism Day.Tourism Minister Vatti Vasanth Kumar inaugurated the much-awaited helicopter city tour, city tour for transit passengers and open top bus city tour besides new additions to the Hyderabad Heritage walks in Old City.Speaking on the occasion, he said, “tourists can have a spectacular aerial view of land marks in the city like Birla mandir, Golconda Fort, Charminar, Hussain Sagar etc on a 15 minute-Helicopter ride.” The chopper, a BEL-47, will take off every half an hour from the Lower Tank Bund and can carry up to six passengers. The price for the chopper ride is Rs 2,950 per head.Asked if the rate was not too high, the minister replied they were considering the matter but added it was completely up to the service provider, Deccan Aviations Pvt Ltd. The helicopter pilot Col. (Retd) Mandeep Singh, described the BEL-47 as “a small Mercedez Benz with all sorts of comforts and is one of the most advanced passenger helicopters in the world”.APTDC along with the airport authorities also launched the city tour for transit passengers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. The tour around the city in a Toyota Qualis for a duration of 3 hours costs Rs 475 per head. Asked if an international passenger without an Indian visa would also be allowed, the minister responded that only people with a proper visa would be allowed for the tour. The tourism department also launched its fashionable open top city tourism buses, which are available both in AC and non-AC. The tour starts from Tank Bund and ends at Lumbini Park. A double-decker open top bus ticket costs `300 for an adult and `240 for a child in non-AC category, whereas the price is `390 for an adult and `320 for a child in AC buses. Notwithstanding these initiatives, it doesn’t seem all hunky dory for the sector in the city at least. Thanks to the Telangana stir, the number of visitors has come down drastically. Vinay Saboo, MD, Inner circle, said, “The revenues have dropped by over 30 per cent across the city due to cancellations of conferences, conventions and functions this year. People outside the city do not want to take the risk of travelling to the city. The occupancy rate has also come down to 30 to 40 per cent due to the uncertainty.” Pradeep Dutt, general secretary of Hotels and Restaurants Association of Andhra Pradesh, echoed the same views and said, “One of our major revenue generators has been the corporate sector. And due to these bandhs, people stop commuting to the cities, which in turn affects the occupancy rate in hotels, stand alone dining restaurants and others. If people do not travel, how can one run a business?” He further added, “Approximately the hotel industry is facing a 40 per cent loss in the overall revenue and these losses depend on the kind of the hotel and its rating. We hope things get back to normal again.”Andhra Pradesh was at the top in attracting tourists from across the country for 14 years prior to 2009. But the situation has since changed. The State had earned a revenue of `120 crore from tourism in 2009 and it is expected to decline this year.
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