Bold Blueprint for Andhra Cultural and Coastal Tourism: Wizcraft & E Factor Make Key Recommendations

Andhra Pradesh, under the leadership of CM Chandrababu Naidu is aggressively moving forward to make the tourism industry as one of the key pillars of its development. From aquaculture to weaving to cottage industries, the state is working across the various regions with hoteliers, real estate developers and investors to build tourism initiatives and projects for the future.

Through the efforts of the Global Forum for Sustainable Transformation, led by SP Tucker, former Andhra Pradesh Chief secretary, Ajay Jain, Special Chief Secretary, and Amrapali Kata, Managing Director of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), the state has identified key stakeholders including two of India’s leading experiential companies, Wizcraft Entertainment Agency and E-Factor. The conclave, while focused on collaborative partnerships, was a masterclass in strategic idea generation, storytelling and destination branding.

 On the occasion, CM Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu spoke about “Speed of doing business” superseding “ease of doing business”. He further spoke about the 4Ps comprising Public-Private-People Partnership driving the future of Andhra Pradesh. He called on Baba Ramdev, who was present, to participate in Andhra Pradesh’s tourism development and help take the Andhra story to the rest of India and the world.

Among several key stakeholders, co-founder, Wizcraft Group, Sabbas Joseph and co-founder E-Factor, Samit Garg, were invited to participate in a think-tank that focused on various facets including tourism at the grassroot level, creative economy development, branding, promotions, marketing, technology as a pivot, tourism infrastructure development, etc.

Held under the aegis of the Andhra Pradesh government, the conclave spotlighted the state’s untapped tourism potential from its 974-km coastline, the second longest in India, to its rich cultural tapestry and cinematic appeal. With meticulously designed content, visuals, and experiences, the conclave brought together policy makers, investors, creators, event IP creators, consultants from across the world and specialists in branding, handicrafts, technology, aqua economy specialist and experts in development-economics along with global stakeholders. 

 One of the key focus areas presented at the conclave was the development of Andhra’s vast coastline. Plans include yacht tourism, cruise experiences, international beach sports, global beach festivals and luxury resorts, designed to create over a lakh jobs at scale across diverse skill sets and demographics.

 Speaking at the Conclave, Sabbas Joseph with signature flair, shared some clear thoughts on how the state could improve its ARPU (Average revenue per tourist), by making the Aqua Tourism economy and Creative Economy aspirational thereby attracting youth and global investment to the sector. Development of the Andhra waterfront should be a major initiative, Joseph said, sharing the examples of developments such as the Palms in Dubai and the Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

 Wizcraft also spotlighted film tourism as a transformational opportunity. He further made a passionate case for Andhra’s ownership of the Telugu film industry whereby that could be the plank for igniting and driving aspiration for the Andhra Pradesh creative economy. He shared the example of the regeneration of the UK's Manchester region using media, entertainment and sports as a springboard. Through policy support for production relocation, crew skilling, co-productions and infrastructure development, Andhra Pradesh aims to re-establish itself as a cinematic hub. Leveraging storytelling as both an economic engine and cultural export, the initiative would generate another 1 lakh jobs, and create opportunities across various demographics, youth and creative sectors among the skilled and the educated. 

 A cornerstone of the presentation was the “Stories of Andhra Pradesh” initiative, a Wizcraft-conceptualized idea focused on building a grassroots creative economy. The multi-year plan envisions 35 stories based on local crafts, weaves, and traditions, to be developed in collaboration with Indian and international designers, corporates, and cultural stakeholders. These stories are not just heritage showcases, but new economic products, with skilling, entrepreneurship, and microfinance forming the foundation for community-led transformation.

 In a bid to engage the global Telugu diaspora, the conclave also introduced “Giving Back to My Andhra,” a call to action designed on similar lines as Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, encouraging investment and participation from the Telugu community’s billionaires in Andhra’s cultural and economic renewal. Wizcraft leaned on its experience of working with the Ministry of External Affairs and FICCI for development of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas initiatives under the leadership of Prime Minister AB Vajpayee.

 Wizcraft’s Sabbas Joseph shared the excitement of the event industry to partner and collaborate to showcase the state’s vision to position itself as a hub for global tourism, culture and the creative economy. While Joseph described Andhra Pradesh as “One State – Many Stories. One State, Multiple Experiences,” he ended inviting the conclave’s partners to “Find your story in Andhra Pradesh” 

 Samit Garg, Co-founder E-Factor shared the size of the event and experiential industry and detailed the breakdown of the over Rs 500,000 crores opportunity across weddings, corporate events, sports, gaming, exhibitions, government sector events. He highlighted the opportunity for skilling, employment, training, investment and economic development. 

 He called on the government to help develop infrastructure, mega events, river cruises, tent cities and other initiatives that could help build accessibility, connectivity and help increase the number of days that tourists would spend in the region.

On the occasion, E-Factor signed an MOU with APTDC to develop river cruises in Andhra Pradesh.

 “Andhra Pradesh – Find your soul”, “Andhra Pradesh – the Soul of India” were proposed by Mr Garg as possible themes for tourism promotion and advertising. 

 By seamlessly weaving together policy, people and place, the Global Forum for Sustainable Tourism turned the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Conclave into more than just an event, it became a platform for vision, action and long-term storytelling. With the collaboration of experts, the forum ensured that Andhra’s future wasn’t just presented, it was felt, imagined and made tangible.