Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 15 October 2025
Admiral D. K. Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.), Hon’ble Lt. Governor of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Vice-Chairman, Islands Development Agency, participated in the Tourism Conclave chaired by Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, held in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The conclave was organized under the vision of ‘One State One Global Destination’.
During the session, the Lt. Governor highlighted the remarkable post-COVID resurgence of tourism in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. He informed that domestic tourist arrivals have surged by nearly 200%, while international arrivals have risen by 157% since 2022.
To further strengthen the Islands’ global identity, the Administration aims to establish three Guinness World Records in scuba diving, positioning the archipelago as a premier diving hub in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific. Plans are underway to develop unique diving circuits around the Button Islands (North, South, and Middle), Barren Island—South Asia’s only active volcano—and the pristine beaches of Swaraj Dweep.
The Lt. Governor also elaborated on a strategic initiative to create a Heritage Tourism Circuit, encompassing iconic national memorial sites such as the Cellular Jail, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Viper Island, Chatham Island, and Manipur Parvat. The project will adopt global benchmarks and be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, with support from the Ministry of Tourism and internationally reputed consultancies.
He further emphasized that flagship infrastructure projects—including five-star eco-resorts, Greenfield airports at Great Nicobar and Sri Vijaya Puram, seaplane operations, cruise tourism, a modernised helicopter fleet, and new ship acquisitions—will together usher in a new era of sustainable, world-class tourism in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
