Andhra Pradesh to become 'India's first' AI-powered tourism state

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh on Tuesday claimed that the state is poised to become 'India's first' AI-powered tourism state with the rollout of the NiVU AI platform to enhance visitor experiences at tourist destinations.

The minister oversaw the signing of a three-year strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and Xplorer at the Secretariat to implement the AI-powered tourism initiative across the state.

"Andhra Pradesh is taking another historic step towards achieving the Swarna (golden) Andhra Vision-2047 by becoming India's first AI-powered tourism state," said Durgesh in an official press release.

According to the Minister, NiVU AI services will be introduced at more than 100 tourist destinations across the state, following the successful pilot project at Mangalagiri.

He said the platform will initially be rolled out at 30 major tourist destinations in the first year before being expanded across Andhra Pradesh within three years.

Durgesh said tourists will be able to access information about heritage sites, forts, beaches and caves by simply scanning a Quick Response (QR) code, enabling AI-powered conversations in more than 130 languages through voice or text without downloading an application.

The minister noted that the service will be available free of cost and will offer visitors information about tourist destinations in their preferred language, making travel more convenient and interactive.

Sharing his experience, Durgesh said he personally tested the NiVU AI platform in Telugu and found its responses accurate and respectful, and that the initiative has already been receiving encouraging feedback from hundreds of devotees every day at the Mangalagiri pilot project.

(Image credit: @Tourism_AP on 'X')