Guntur: The decision of the state government to start a tourism circuit in Guntur district would help the tourism department generate revenue for the district. Though the district has many tourist attractions like the hilltop Kottappakonda, Kondaveedu fort, Uppalapadu bird sanctuary, Guthikonda caves, Amaravati Buddhist museum, Undavalli caves, Nagarjuna Sagar, Ethipothala water falls, Durgi stonecrafts, Mangalagiri Panakala Swamy temple, Bhattiprolu etc., there is no office of the tourism department in the district headquarters Guntur.
N. Balaji, a lecturer, said that the decision would help develop tourism, but the absence of food and accommodation facilities at tourist spots was worrisome. He said that government should provide boarding and lodging facilities at all tourism centres and introduce packages to attract all sections of the society.
Hotelier K. Ramakrishna welcomed the project by saying that it would generate jobs, both directly and indirectly. He opined that poor marketing was the reason behind low patronage to tourism centres and appealed to the government to start a tourism information centre in Guntur. City’s contemporary artist R. Vinod Chowdary said that many people are not even aware of the Guntur museum situated on the main road of the city reflecting the ancient Buddhist culture in the district. “The new tourism project should cover all historical places,” he said.
