Hyderabad: Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday, September 27, said that software professionals in Hyderabad, who work under intense pressure for five days a week, must be encouraged to explore tourism destinations across the state during weekends.
He proposed introducing “tourism coupons” for software employees to encourage them to visit nature-based destinations during weekends.
The Deputy Chief Minister, who attended World Tourism Day – 2026 celebrations at Sampradaya Vedika, Shilparamam, said the state government is taking several measures to establish the state, with its rich natural, historical, spiritual and cultural heritage, as a prominent destination on the global tourism map.
He suggested extensive use of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to take Telangana’s tourism sector to international standards.
He said Telangana has immense potential in health tourism, temple tourism, rural tourism and nature tourism.
Vikramarka, who handles finance portfolio, said the tourism sector has been accorded greater priority in the budget compared to the past.
He said the government’s tourism policy placed strong emphasis on visitor safety and quality infrastructure.
He stressed the need to attract large-scale investments by developing international-standard hotels and other infrastructure through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
He told Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and the officials to hold discussions with CEOs of leading IT companies and operators of tourism projects in this regard.
On the occasion, Vikramarka and the Tourism Minister unveiled the redesigned Telangana Tourism website, online homestay registration system, video/poster campaign titled “My Telangana, My Story, My Destination”, among others.
An MoU was signed between the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Archaeology Department of the Telangana government, an official release said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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