The Andhra Pradesh government is gearing up to put the state on the global tourism map. After successfully hosting PATA Travel Mart 2008, the state is set to hold the upcoming Routes Asia, an international conference for the aviation industry from March 29-31, 2009 in Hyderabad. These events, as well as the ongoing initiatives taken by the state government and the private sector are paving the way for AP to become a successful state for tourism. The Visit Hyderabad concept, which will be launched in June this year, as an autonomous body based on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, is a first-of-its-kind concept which will promote the destination on a revenue sharing basis and also help the state to host international conventions of a larger scale. The other initiatives lined up by the state government to promote surrounding areas/destinations of the state will be initiated by the Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Elaborating on the tourism department’s plans, Raja Reddy, Assistant Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh stated, “We have about 18 projects lined up under various categories such as temple circuit development, |