Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chadnrababu Naidu, who till recently locked in making futile attempts of attracting more and more investments from multi-national companies and NRIs, is now seems to be focusing in promoting tourism attracting more and more NRIs and foreign tourists. For this purpose, he has identified two prime destinations- Tirumala and Buddhist places.

Tirumala’s presiding deity is Lord Venkateswara Swamy is being worshipped by devotees from all over the world. To make use of this devotion to promote tourism, Chief Minister has directed officials to make special arrangements for Lord’s darshan at Tirumala for such visitors.

During his interaction with the delegation of the Indian Association of Tour Operators in Amaravati, he said facilitating easy access for Sri Vari Darshanam at Tirumala would touch them emotionally. He has directed government officials to discuss with TTD Board on this proposal so that to come up with a special package for NRIs and foreign tourists.

Chief Minister is also hopeful that Andhra Pradesh would emerge as a major tourist destination for Buddhists from all over the globe, as the capital city is named as `Amaravati’. Keeping in view of their interests, the state government is proposing to arrange special packages for visiting Buddhist historical places in the state.

The state government is also contemplating to set up Tourism and Hospitality University, making tourism organisations and tourist guides in the state as partners.