AP Tourism to Introduce AI-Driven Smart Destination Services
“If you think you have already seen India, come to Andhra Pradesh once. We will certainly surprise you,” he told global tourism stakeholders.
Vijayawada:Andhra Pradesh would introduce AI-powered services at more than 100 major tourist and pilgrimage destinations as part of a technology-driven transformation of its tourism sector, tourism minister K Durgesh has said.
He was speaking at the Tourism Innovation Summit-2026 in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday.
The state government has partnered with Explurger to introduce NiVU AI (Neural Intelligence Vernacular Unified Model), enabling visitors to access information about tourist attractions in more than 130 languages by scanning an “ASK AI” QR code. No separate app download or payment would be required, the minister said.
The initiative has been implemented at the Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Mangalagiri. In the first phase of the statewide rollout, the service would be introduced at 30 major destinations.
Durgesh said the technology would help international visitors understand the history and cultural significance of heritage sites in their own languages while discovering nearby attractions. It would also provide the AP Tourism Authority with real-time analytics on visitors’ preferences, languages and travel behaviour to aid future planning.
Describing AP as a destination offering spirituality, Buddhist heritage, living traditions, cuisine, forests, rivers and beaches, the minister said technology would complement its heritage. From Tirumala and Amaravati to Gandikota, Maredumilli, Araku and Visakhapatnam, the State offered diverse experiences in a single journey, he said.
Durgesh said the government was also exploring augmented and virtual reality, AI and digital twins to provide immersive information on the state’s forests and natural resources. Calling for global partnerships, he invited travel-tech companies, startups, universities, investors and tourism operators to invest in AI-based tourism services and smart destination management.
“If you think you have already seen India, come to Andhra Pradesh once. We will certainly surprise you,” he told global tourism stakeholders.