Telangana: Irrigation projects to turn tourist spots

Hyderabad: Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud said the Telangana government is working to develop popular irrigation projects into tourist spots, including Konda Pochamma, Kaleshwaram, Karivena and Basavapur in Yadadri.

The Minister was speaking after launching the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) at HICC in Madhapur here on Tuesday. Goud said Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has accorded top priority to tourism development and has specifically instructed the tourism officials to develop tourist spots at different reservoirs across the State, he said.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the travel and tourism sector was badly affected. Considering the hardships faced by tourism operators in the State, the government had extended a few incentives and the industry is beginning to get back on track, he said.

Over 100 participants from four countries and more than 19 Indian States and UTs are promoting their services at the TTF. Event organisers said domestic travel is expected to reach record-breaking numbers as many Indians are expected to travel domestically in 2022. Central and Southern India markets would play a major role.

Domestic air passenger traffic is nearing pre-pandemic levels, with airlines having ferried 1.14 crore air travellers in May 2022 compared with 1.22 crore in May 2019. Hotel occupancies, which had fallen below 50 per cent in January 2022 on account of the Omicron impact, has now hit 65 per cent occupancy level, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and average daily rate (ADR) for three consecutive days during the second week of April. The event is open for all on Wednesday from 11 am to 6 pm.