1,000 new buses to boost T’gana tourism

Telangana State Road Transport Corporation and Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation recently held a meeting with tourism committee of Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry, where they discussed the way and means to go forward and work together to strengthen tourism.

TT Bureau

V.C. Sajjanar, Managing Director, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), said that the session with tourism stakeholders of the state and Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) would help them to work constructively towards getting more tourist footfall in the state. There was a presentation by TSRTC about the initiatives they are taking to enhance road connectivity in Telangana. The objective was to leverage the fleet of the TSRTC, strength and cutting-edge infrastructure for giving an impetus to tourism. Sajjanar took inputs from service providers and stakeholders to take an overview of the situation, and work along with the industry to move the state up the Indian tourism ladder.

“In the past seven to eight months, we have increased our services. We have 10,000 buses running in Telangana, and we are going to get another 1,000 buses. We will shortly be starting bus services to Yadagirigutta, Tirupati and Shirdi. We cater to around 37 lakh passengers per day. Telangana is a vibrant state and it has many places to visit, which are still unexplored by tourists. We would like to take tourists to the unexplored places. We want the industry’s suggestions because many people come to Telangana, but do not know where to go. We would like to know the types of facilities/amenities for tourists, in terms of advance package system or some information. We are tying up with the TSTDC to boost this sector. We want to play a key role in tourism promotion. It is a big vertical and we would like to explore it, for increasing the revenues of TSRTC and TSTDC,” he claimed.

Valmiki Harikishan, Chairman, Tourism Committee, FTCCI Tourism Committee, shared his inputs on how tourism can be promoted along with TSRTC. “We are planning to come up with a single window system. The TSTDC is trying to showcase Telangana to those who come to Hyderabad and the state through packaged tours. The TSRTC is the first road corporation in India that has introduced tours out of Telangana. I hope in the future we can look at having hop-on hop-off buses in Hyderabad. Furthermore, a single pass for all public transport should be introduced,” he felt.

He also asked the TSTDC and the TSRTC to work hand-in-hand, so that the industry and both the PSUs can generate revenue. Other FTCCI members also discussed issues and gave their suggestions.

Uppala Srinivasa Gupta, Chairman, TSTDC, said, “Both the corporations have common synergies and they are working towards making sure that the state’s tourism potential is explored like never before.” Calling the meeting a great initiative, he promised all the support needed by the TSRTC and the industry for creating long and short-term strategies in attracting domestic and global tourists to the state. After intensity of the pandemic reduced, people are enthusiastic to travel and so, the TSTDC is operating buses to gated communities where a huge number of passengers are willing to travel. Meanwhile, Haritha Hotels, a subsidiary of TSTDC, will be expanded to meet the needs of road travellers in the state of Telangana, said Gupta.