AP Ready to Facilitate International Theme Parks Establishment: Minister
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister K Durgesh said on Friday that the government is ready to expand cooperation for setting up international theme parks in the state.
Responding to Prathipadu MLA B Ramanjaneyulu in the Assembly on the possibility of setting up a Disney World-like project on 171 acres of land at Kurnoothala village in Guntur district, the Tourism Minister observed that projects on the scale of Disney World and Universal Studios require investments of up to Rs 60,000 Million.
“The government will expand cooperation for setting up international entertainment and theme parks,” Durgesh said, adding that such major projects around the world are being set up by private players, but the government restricts itself to land allocation, incentives and permission allocation.
According to the minister, the average spend by tourists in India is currently only around Rs 21,000, which is below international trends. Observing that Disney World and Universal Studios-like amusement parks operate in places like Orlando, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris and others, he said their establishment is based on a demand and supply mechanism.
He said that such parks are being built in these countries because there is space to provide a return on these investments, and stated that the number of tourists and their spending ability must be there for such parks to reach India.
In meetings with Imagicaa and Wonderla, which operate Disney World-like parks in Indian cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the Minister said that they showed interest in Tirupati and Visakhapatnam.
To attract amusement park investments, the southern state’s tourism department participates in many international and national trade fairs and exhibitions, Durgesh said. Aiming to develop tourism, Durgesh noted that the government has given industrial status to this sector along with a number of other incentives.
He said that at the last CII Partnership Summit in Vizag, the Tourism Department signed 102 agreements worth Rs 18,448 million, including three theme parks.
