Visakha Utsav to focus on 26-km coastal stretch tourism potential
The festival is projected to attract over one million visitors
image for illustrative purpose
Visakhapatnam: For the first time, Visakha Utsav will be spread over nine days beginning January 24 to showcase Visakhapatnam–Anakapalli–Araku as India’s Integrated Global Coastal–Hill Growth Corridor.
As per the directions of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the celebrations will begin with the active support from the State leadership to make the utsav a landmark tourism and cultural initiative envisioned as India’s biggest beach and coastal festival, built around the powerful “Sea to Sky” concept.
Scheduled from January 24 to February 1, Visakha Utsav is a large-scale, multi-venue and multi-region celebration that brings together entertainment, culture, adventure, sports, food, and community participation across Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, and Araku.
Spanning across 20 venues and presenting over 500 thoughtfully curated activities, the festival brings together more than 650 artists and performers, transforming the region into a vibrant epicenter of culture, celebration, and tourism. Anchored by a spectacular 26 km coastal stretch, Visakha Utsav offers a cohesive narrative of tourism, cultural pride, and regional development, carrying strong national as well as international significance.
The festival is projected to attract over one million visitors, while generating 3,000 employment opportunities and engaging approximately 1,800 support personnel, resulting in a substantial uplift to local livelihoods and hospitality-led economic growth. With an estimated GDP impact exceeding Rs500 crore, Visakha Utsav serves as a powerful catalyst for strengthening the regional tourism economy, while significantly enhancing Vizag’s global visibility and destination branding.
Key attractions and engagement highlights include adventure sports, boating, beach volleyball and Kabaddi, helicopter rides, hot air balloon experiences, cycling and boat rides, kids competitions, rangoli, cooking competitions, singing and dancing competitions, meditation session and temple Jathara celebrations, flea market and performances by local talent, national stars and live bands.
The festival will highlight how Visakhapatnam has turned into a global destination with its strategic location, deep-sea port, international connectivity, industrial corridors, technology ecosystem and emergence as the eastern gateway.
Minister for Tourism Kandula Durgesh said Visakha Utsav is positioned not merely as a festival, but as a strategic signal to global investors, tourists, and institutions, demonstrating Vizag’s readiness in infrastructure, governance, safety, lifestyle, and scale, comparable with leading global coastal cities. He said they will showcase "Sea to Sky: Vizag – Anakapalli – Araku Growth Corridor The Sea to Sky concept integrates three complementary regions into one tourism and development arc.":
He said Anakapalli (Culture, Community & Entertainment): Heritage, crafts, eco-tourism, locked live entertainment hubs, and logistics connectivity.
