Great scope for MICE tourism sector growth in Tirupati

Tirupati: AP Tourism Authority and District Tourism Council (DTC) took the initiative in promoting MICE tourism (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) in Tirupati district and conducted a brainstorming session to chalk out the vision at IIT Tirupati on Saturday. The one-day confer-ence was led by district Collector and DTC Chairman Dr S Venkateswar and IIT Tirupati Director Prof KN Satyanarayana.

It explored opportunities, trends and challenges in MICE tourism, which featured participation from representatives of Universities, academicians, industrialists, corporate representatives, hospitality as-sociations, travel associations and stakeholders like Sri City

Highlighting the collaborative efforts behind the conference, particu-larly the support extended by the IIT Director, Collector Venkateswar urged participants to brainstorm strategies and provide actionable suggestions to promote MICE tourism in the district. He noted that Tirupati attracts approximately 80,000 to 1,00,000 visitors daily, pri-marily for darshan at Tirumala and emphasised the potential for ex-tending their stay by promoting local tourism and hospitality sectors.

He elaborated on the untapped potential of MICE tourism in the dis-trict. He cited the availability of six beaches along a 75-km coastline, waterfalls such as Talakona, Arai, and TP Kona and spiritual destina-tions like Tumburu Theertham in Tirumala. Iconic temples, including Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Srikalahasti, Surutupalli and Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, add to the district’s appeal for spiritu-al tourism. He also highlighted upcoming luxury hotels like Oberoi, Lemon Tree and Taj and major commercial ventures such as Lulu Mall, which are poised to boost the region’s hospitality infrastructure.

IIT Tirupati Director Prof Satyanarayana underscored the district’s conducive environment for tourism, supported by prestigious institu-tions such as IIT, IISER, SV University and private universities like Mo-han Babu University and Krea University. He emphasised the role of events like seminars and conferences in attracting visitors who can explore local attractions and pilgrimage sites during their stay, there-by benefiting the tourism and hospitality sectors and creating em-ployment opportunities for the youth.

Speakers like Prof Y Venkata Rao from Puducherry University’s De-partment of Tourism Studies and Chennai-based event manager DV Vinod Gopal shared insights on MICE tourism trends. Tirupati Municipal Corporation Commissioner N Mourya, District Forest Officer and Zoo Curator C Selvam, Regional Tourism Director Dr R Ramana Prasad and Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam Registrar Prof N Rajani among others attended the conference.