Telangana aims to break into top 5 in tourism rankings

With a goal to attract Rs. 15,000 crore in investments, generate employment for three lakh youth, and increase the tourism sector’s GDP contribution by 10 percent, the government aims to position Telangana among the top five states in domestic and international tourist arrivals.

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has plans to give a major fillip to river-based tourism on the Godavari and Krishna while promoting spiritual, heritage, cultural, adventure, medical and wellness, and eco-tourism, with an emphasis on safe tourism.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to expand the tourism sector in the state, Irrigation, Food & Civil Supplies Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday said, “Tourism is one of the priority growth areas for Telangana” and they are planning to promote it by collaborating with credible private operators.

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The Minister made these remarks after inaugurating Southern Travels regional office here along with Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Southern Travels Managing Director Krishna Mohan.

Speaking on the occasion, Uttam Kumar said through the Telangana Tourism Policy 2025-2030, which came into effect on March 17 this year, the government is aiming to break into the top five in domestic and international tourist arrivals. He also said the policy would help attract new investments worth Rs. 15,000 crore over the next five years, generate employment for three lakh unemployed youth and raise tourism’s contribution to the State GDP by at least 10 percent.

The policy seeks to create 27 Special Tourism Areas covering waterfalls, Buddhist circuits, spiritual hubs, heritage sites, eco-tourism locations, wellness centres and craft villages.

With an eye on making Telangana a top global destination through branding, capacity-building and institutional mechanisms, the government also proposes to set up the State Tourism Promotion Board, Empowered Committee, State Tourism Promotion Committee and Destination Management Organisations to ensure effective execution.