Visakhapatnam: The picturesque Araku Valley and the Borra Caves in the Eastern Ghats in Vizag Agency, have witnessed a surge of about 25 per cent of tourists during the tourist season from October-2016 to February-2017. The demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes and liquid cash crunch of Rs 100 and Rs 50 currency during November failed to deter the tourists.
Domestic tourists from West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and other states visited Araku Valley, Borra Caves, Lammasingi, Katika Waterfalls, Ananthagiri and other tourist spots in Vizag Agency. According to data from the tourism department, 71,882 tourists visited Borra Caves, Araku Valley, Lammasingi during October-2016 while 88,744 arrived in November 2016. December 2016 saw 1.23 lakh visitors. As many as 90,137 tourists arrived in January 2017 and while around 60,000 came in February. Of the foreign tourists visiting Andhra Pradesh and Vizag during the tourist season, very few arrived to see the sights at Vizag Agency.
Despite this, the income generated from Borra Caves alone on ticket sales was Rs 4.23 crore during the current financial year (up to January 2017), while it was Rs 3.6 crore in the 2015-2016 financial year, It was Rs 3.33 crore in 2014-2015 and Rs 2.8 crore in 2013-2014 financial year. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) installed a Belgium lighting system (digital lighting facility) at Borra Caves in April 2016 and recently it introduced a sound system to explain their history in English, Telugu and Hindi, to attract visitors.
“We are also chalking out plans to create more facilities for tourists to make sure their trip to Borra Caves is memorable,” said Executive Director of APTDC, Vizag, R.S. Naidu. “Vizag Agency has everything needed to promote it as a tourist destination and we are conducting roadshows in different cities and abroad,” said principal Secretary of Tourism N Srikanth.
