IATO will be organizing 34th annual convention from September 6 to 9

Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), along with the Andhra Pradesh tourism department, will be organizing its 34th annual convention here from September 6 to 9.

Union Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda will participate in the convention, in which over 900 delegates will be taking part. The IATO will come up with suggestions to promote tourism in Andhra Pradesh and attract foreign visitors.

Explaining the objective of the convention, IATO president PranobSarkar said it would focus on exploring new tourism destinations and developments and boosting global tourism opportunities in Andhra Pradesh.

The theme of the convection is 'Mission: 20 million Tourists by 2020, challenges and possibilities,' he added. Three teams of IATO visited Vishakapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati to observe facilities at the tourist destinations, he said.

CEO of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority and Managing Director of the state Tourism Development Corporation, Himanshu Shukla said the government had developed some tourism projects based on the recommendations of two conventions of IATO in 1997 and 2003 Vice-Chairman of Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority P Basanth Kumar said VUDA has been chalking out plans for development of an Integrated Naval Museum in the city.

Tourism is the face of the state and one of the key drivers of growth among the service sectors, he said, adding Andhra Pradesh was laying emphasis on increasing domestic and foreign arrivals with the help of IATO.