VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government is making preparations to allow hotels and restaurants to reopen from June 8 in tune with the Central government's COVID-19 guidelines. Against this backdrop, Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas and Endowments Minister Vellampally Srinivas held a meeting with the representatives of hotels and restaurants and deliberated on the issue of resumption of their services while adhering to the Centre's preventive measures intended to check the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking on this occasion, Avanthi Srinivas announced that all hotels and restaurants in the state would be allowed to reopen from June 8. He said, "Andhra Pradesh boasts of a long coastline, beautiful rivers, and many tourism spots. The state government is permitting hotels to reopen at all these places. We will also initiate measures to ensure the reopening of hotels and restaurants in all pilgrim places. While opening their doors for the convenience of tourists and pilgrims, the management of the hotels should simultaneously put in place all preventive measures stipulated for the combat of COVID-19. We will organize multiple festivals in almost all the districts with the objective of promoting tourism."

The tourism minister said that the promotion of Andhra Pradesh as a destination for tourism is taking place in other states too.

He further said that an adventure sports academy has been set up at Gandikota and the construction of drive-in restaurants has also begun in Araku and 'Erra Matti Dibbalu'.
He also said that they are exploring ways on how to generate revenue from renewed tourism activity and have taken the decision to build five-star and seven-star resorts in Araku, Gandikota, and Horsley Hills.

The government has set up nine control rooms to prevent boat mishaps besides making it mandatory for the tahsildar, police, and water resources department to jointly give permission for boating, he said.