The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Germans wooed with spiritual tourism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Germans wooed with spiritual tourism

Staff Reporter

New concept chalks out visits to famous temples combined with yoga, meditation and Vedanta

NAMASTE MADAM!: The Iranian Consular-General, Hussain Ravish, greeting the Tourism Minister, J. Geetha Reddy, at a press conference in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Photo: Satish H.

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh tourism has drawn up an ambitious action plan to woo German tourists by promoting `spiritual tourism,' a new concept combining visits to famous temples along with yoga, meditation and Vedanta.

A delegation of eight German tour operators, travel agents, meeting, international conferences and exhibitions (MICE) organisers and travel writers, who arrived here on a five-day familiarisation tour, evinced keen interest in spiritual tourism after undergoing satisfying experience personally.

The Tourism Minister, J. Geeta Reddy, told reporters here on Tuesday that Andhra Pradesh was being promoted as the new spiritual tourism destination for the Europeans.

Keeping in view the interest shown by the Germans about philosophy and cultural aspects of the State, the Tourism Department had roped in Ramakrishna Mission and some yoga institutions to explain the strength of yoga and meditation.

The German delegation was also taken around the convention facilities available in Hyderabad. Bernd Slotta, a leading photographer from Germany, would be propagating the State tourism in German magazines.

Veronika Pommert, member of the delegation, said by selling the concept of spiritual tourism, Andhra Pradesh could draw German tourists. The delegation is visiting Tirupati on Wednesday while one member would visit Warangal and Vijayawada to explore more destinations.

Dr. Geeta Reddy, who returned after a tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran and Egypt from May 3 and 6 to participate in the Asian Travel Mart (ATM), said that need for mutual tourism was stressed by these countries. On its part, Iran will organise an exhibition in Hyderabad in October. It requested for special quota for its students to pursue MBA programme from the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Hyderabad.

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