A glorious history of more than 2500 years, Telangana State is a treasure trove of tourist destinations with magnificent forts and monuments, temples, pristine natural beauty with lakes, rocky regions, wildlife, flora and fauna, diverse ethnic groups, festivals, art and culture.

Now with a focus on tourism as a major growth engine, besides IT and Life Sciences sectors, Telangana has launched its Tourism Policy to provide necessary impetus for Tourism Infrastructure Development with strategic concessions and incentives.

The Tourism Policy is structured with a clear roadmap—its first ever tourism policy since the state was formed. The government aims to increase tourism’s contribution to the state’s economy to at least 10 per cent, attract ₹15,000 crore in investments and create significant employment opportunities. As part of this strategy, the first steps will be—Hyderabad will host the Miss World 2025 pageant in May.

The policy aims to achieve substantial new investments to the tourism sector, creation of additional employment opportunity, and position Telangana in the top 5 states in domestic and international tourist arrivals.

Key drivers of the policy are Safe Tourism, Infrastructure Development, and Development of Special Tourism Areas (STAs). The policy is applicable as per the categorization of projects based on investment and location. Key strategies of the policy are Diversified Experiences to Tourists, Strengthening Infrastructure & Amenities, Promoting Public Private Partnerships (PPP), Branding and Marketing, Fairs and Festivals, Skill Development Initiatives, as well as Tourism Awards.

This policy also contains a detailed framework for Eco-Tourism, Medical & Wellness Tourism, Spiritual Tourism, MICE, and Sports Tourism, to provide a complete experiential vision to every explorer.

It is a matter of pride to note that Telugu language was accorded the status of Classical Language by the Government of India in 2008. The state now stands out for its robust infrastructure, excellent connectivity, featuring one of the world’s best airports, year-round pleasant climate, prestigious educational institutions, thriving IT and IT-enabled services sector, global pharmaceutical hub with robust health infrastructure (being the “vaccine capital” of the world), leading defence organizations, and a vibrant service and film industry.

Based on the tourism potential of different regions/destinations, Special Tourism Areas (STAs) will be developed across the state on mission mode. Currently, 27 STAs have been identified and each identified STA will be critically reviewed through a Master Planning approach, and infrastructure/tourism ecosystem gaps will be identified. Accordingly, STA-specific strategy and roadmap will be prepared along with the shelf of projects and implementation schedule.

A central focus of the policy is on conserving Telangana’s natural resources, including forests, wetlands, wildlife habitats, and cultural sites, while fostering biodiversity, ecological integrity, and sustaining ecotourism potential in the long run.

TELANGANA KEY DRIVERS

1. Promote Safe Tourism by creating dedicated tourist police units/tourist patrols across key tourist destinations, implementing women-friendly measures to ensure the safety of female tourists, and leveraging the Tourism Friendly Index (TFI) to evaluate the safety standards of destinations. Additionally, CCTV surveillance at all tourist destinations will foster a safer and more welcoming environment for tourists.
2. Position Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad as a focal point by creating iconic projects in the vicinity, within the reach of 1–2 hours’ drive.
3. Develop a Dry Port along the Regional Ring Road (RRR), duly connecting it with the Greenfield Highway to Machilipatnam Port, thus facilitating it as a hub for construction materials/building materials shopping and promoting Business Tourism.
4. Create World-Class Shopping experiences along the RRR, such as Specialized Malls for Wedding Shopping, Gold Souks, Household Shopping, Outlet Malls, Construction Material Malls, Furniture Malls, and organize a year-round calendar of shopping festivals with attractive offers to the buyers.
5. Promote Mega Retail Malls (Luxury Branded Malls/Factory Outlets) along ORR exit points based on land availability, on PPP mode.
6. Promote Godavari and Krishna river tourism by developing jetties and launch stations, water sports, houseboats, and initiate “River Festivals” on the lines of the Boat Festival of Kerala.
7. Encourage waterfront development along the lakes in urban areas as weekend getaways with adventure activities, kids’ zones, and local retail outlets.
8. Create helipads and provide air connectivity extensively at all Special Tourism Areas (STAs).
9. Explore golf tourism potential in the state.
10. Create a strong social media and digital presence to promote the state as a dynamic tourism destination.
11. Conduct Familiarization (FAM) trips for the domestic and international travel community, more importantly targeting Southeast Asian countries, to attract large numbers of Buddhist tourists and investments to the state.
12. Targeted wellness and meditation centers will be developed at Buddhavanam, Nagarjuna Sagar for attracting Buddhist tourists throughout the year.
13. Encourage the “Adoption of Monuments” by corporates for conservation of heritage buildings, forts, palaces, tombs, and tourist attractions.

Experiential Tourism

To create new and diverse tourist attractions with authentic dive into experience of the local cuisine, culture, and traditions. Focused efforts will be made to promote:

• Eco-Tourism
• Medical & Wellness Tourism
• Spiritual Tourism
• MICE Tourism
• Sports Tourism

Sops for Investors

• Investment Facilitation Cell will be created for facilitation and monitoring of all investments into the tourism sector.
• 50% SGST reimbursement for investors for a period of five years, but hotels and resorts will not be eligible for reimbursement.
• For the development and operation of tourism projects, different Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models will be adopted through a transparent bidding process. Proposed models include Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), License Fee, Joint Venture (JV), Equity, and other models aligning with emerging global trends.

Wellness Zones: Promoting Traditional & Holistic Healing in the STAs

The Telangana Medical and Wellness Tourism Board (TMWTB) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Health Minister to ensure compliance with legal, ethical, and public health standards while promoting medical and wellness tourism.

• Wellness Zones in the STAs will be earmarked to encourage development of integrated Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, and Homeopathy services for a holistic healing experience.
• Utilizing certified graduates from A.Y.U.S.H recognized colleges in Telangana, NABH accredited A.Y.U.S.H hospitals will be established in these niche integrated Wellness Zones.
• A state-of-the-art Naturopathy Institute will be developed at Ananthagiri Hills, while upgrading the existing Nature Cure Hospital at Hyderabad.
• Financial incentives which are offered under the tourism framework will be extended, as applicable, to Wellness Zones.

MICE

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) tourism sector has emerged as a key driver of business tourism over the past decades in Hyderabad, supported by world-class infrastructure like HICC, HITEX, etc., and also a world-class airport. The state has proudly hosted many international MICE events and is positioned as one of the leading destinations for MICE in Southeast Asia.

• New MICE infrastructure will be developed with private sector participation by offering appropriate incentives.
• New locations will be identified for the ‘MICE Tourism’ including destination weddings (Vikarabad, Nagarjuna Sagar, and Yadagirigutta, etc.) at proposed STAs with world-class event venues, accommodation, etc.
• Tailor-made special incentives will be offered for the development of iconic projects like mega theme parks, film studios, etc., proposed across the state.

Other Important Pointers

• For eco-tourism, the Telangana Forest Development Corporation (TGFDC) will serve as a nodal agency for policy implementation.
• Annual Film Awards will be revived and publicized by introducing Regional Awards, National Awards, and International Awards, duly involving the Film Industry.
• Hyderabad Numaish will be expanded and promoted on the lines of Global Village of Dubai.
• Calendar of Food Festivals shall be created across Telangana in partnership with the Hospitality Industry.
• Special festivals will be organized to promote Hyderabadi Biryani, Haleem, and Telangana Vantakalu.
• Tourism and Hospitality University will be established in the state by upgrading the National Institute of Tourism & Hospitality Management (NITHM). It will act as a nodal agency for preparing the roadmap for skilling programs.