The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : South India all set to woo tourists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 24, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

South India all set to woo tourists

Staff Reporter

Collaborative initiative starts bearing fruit

SITCON plans tour packages along the tourism circuit
Southern Splendour likely to roll out in the next 18 months

BANGALORE: What if you could travel all over south India and not worry about your mode of transport or where you will stay? What if you could just sit back and soak in the southern glory.

Collaborative initiatives by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Pondicherry to market south India as a tourist destination to travellers from around the world have begun to bear fruit.

In the era of tour packages, South India Tourism Confederation (SITCON), created specially for this marketing purpose, will introduce tour packages along the tourism circuit of the States. “It is likely to take off in the next six months,” said M. Balasubramanyam Reddy, Joint Director of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), at a press conference here on Monday.

There is the much-awaited Southern Splendour, a luxury train on the lines of Palace on Wheels.

Mr. Reddy said that the train could roll out in the next 18 months and places on this tourism circuit are being worked out. “The train will start and end in Hyderabad,” he said. For those whom vacation means gazing out into the blue ocean, luxury cruises connecting the peninsular region will be out soon, said Mr. Reddy.

Currently, cruises operate along the Andhra Pradesh coastline but talks with other States on extending the luxury cruises have yielded positive results, he added.

And if you just want to experience the cultural experience that is Andhra Pradesh, the APTDC has started an online booking facility that will include tours to tourist destinations and also provide links to various hotels, depending on your budget.

Log on to www.aptdc.in or email aptdc@satyam.net.in for details.

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