A Destination Promotion Show was held at Hilton Hotel in Singapore on 28th November 2005 as part of the promotional campaign organized by Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh in association with Air India. It was a part of the series of road shows to add further sheen to Andhra Pradesh's image as a favoured tourist destination in the international market. Andhra Pradesh has developed a unique market position, image and brand now in South East Asian countries and Destination Promotion Show at Singapore was another step to boost Tourism.

Andhra Pradesh is a State with myriad tourism attractions including a magnificent history of Buddhism. The aim is to attract some 1.5 million international tourist visitors by 2010, starting with the Kalachakra Buddhist ceremony, which will be held during 5th to 16th January 2006 in Amravati district.

Dr. J Geeta Reddy, Hon'ble Minister for Industry, Tourism & Sugar, Govt. of AP said the state government has started aggressively promoting tourism sector to make it one of the main pillars of economic growth in the southern Indian state. She also disclosed that the state government was making the tourism policy more investor-friendly, given that the state would need to build hotels, resorts and other related infrastructure and we are now looking at promoting eco-tourism, rural-tourism, sports-tourism with an aim to offer something for every one,'' She explained that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will offer the Kalachakra Empowerment for the 30th time in his life, which is closely associated with Dhanyakataka, where, the scriptures record, the Buddha first revealed the Kalachakra. 

Travel Agents, Press, Media and Executives of Singapore Tourism Board, Official of Indian Embassy Singapore and Indian High Commission, attended the Destination Promotion Show. The Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, Mr. Lim Neo Chian, who was the Chief Guest, offered his support in building awareness regarding Andhra Pradesh. He said Andhra Pradesh had the confluence of a proud past and information technology for a better future. He said that the trade between the two countries has grown manifold and India has become the sixth largest market in the world. Mr. Lim said that the people going to India has grown by 24% between January and September this year. He said Singapore would step up and increase if possible the air capacity in future. 

During the Show a business session was held, followed by which a 7 and a half-minute film on AP Tourism was shown to the tour operators from Singapore. The Chairman & Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), Mr. Raymond Peter and Director, Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Mr. Sabyasachi Ghosh, showcased Andhra Pradesh as the next destination and made a presentation on various Buddhist sites to the 125 tour operators who attended the meet. Mrs. Sulekha Shrivastava, Regional Manager, South East Asia, Air India offered special promotional fare of $550 for the passengers on the Hyderabad-Singapore-Hyderabad sector till March next year.

Exuberating Cultural performances by the artist of Andhra Pradesh left the audiences speechless and added color to the show. The Destination Promotion show at Singapore successfully achieved the objective of creating awareness and promoting the Buddhist circuit and other enchanting tourist destinations of Andhra Pradesh. 

Contact for further details:

Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh 
info@aptourism.in

Andra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC)
info@tourisminap.com

Travel Agents Association of India
samira@pol.net.in