THE INDIAN state of Andhra Pradesh has stepped up efforts to attract more international leisure and MICE arrivals from South-east Asia by hosting a roadshow in Singapore yesterday.
Organised by the Andhra Pradesh’s tourism department, the roadshow showcased the state’s various attractions and upcoming tourism projects, and was also used by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation as a platform to identify potential partners and GSAs.
Chandana Khan, special chief secretary, Tourism Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “South-east Asia – including Singapore – is a key target market for us, alongside Japan. In the past, we focused on attracting tourists from Europe, particularly the UK and the US, but we feel that now is the right time to widen our scope (to South-east Asia).”
Currently, the state draws a quarter of domestic tourists, but it only accounts for around seven per cent of all foreign arrivals to India. According to Andhra Pradesh’s tourism department, foreign visitors are mostly pilgrims who tend to visit Tirupati and Mantaralayam.
While applauding the state’s efforts, most Singapore-based travel consultants felt that it would be difficult to convince Singaporeans and other South-east Asians to visit Andhra Pradesh.
Millie Sze, manager, Mandarin Tour, said: “Andhra Pradesh is probably a more attractive (destination) for MICE clients, rather than holidaymakers, given the excellent MICE infrastructure in the state’s capital, Hyderabad. The state as a whole is still relatively unfamiliar to Asians, and with Asian tourists being rather risk-averse, they would prefer to travel to Rajasthan or Kerala, which have similar tourism products and are more well-known tourist hotspots.”
Similarly, Snowland Holidays’ director, Irvinder Singh, remarked: “It is essential for Andhra Pradesh tourism authorities to organise familiarisation trips – something it has not done for Singapore or the South-east Asian market. Moreover, (the NTO) should seek more support from private-sector players in Andhra Pradesh in marketing the state’s attractions and tourism products. It cannot do everything by itself.”
