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“Cruise operators are more than ever searching for new destinations and itineraries and India’s reputation as an enchanting, exotic and historical destination lends itself ideally to becoming a major port of call,” as Leena Nandan, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Tourism, said at World Travel Market.
Ports selected for upgraded cruise facilities include Mumbai, Mormugao (the port city of Goa); Cochin in Kerala, New Mangalore on the southwest coast and Chennai on the east coast.
Ms Nandan said India was well-located to create and expand regional cruise itineraries. The country’s rapidly-expanding tourism figures (both overseas and domestic traffic) meant that India could support a burgeoning cruise market.
Outlining the Government of India’s proposed cruise shipping policy, Ms Nandan said: “Our aim will be to try and tempt cruise passengers into returning to India for a longer stay. We aim to ensure that India’s cruise industry is competitive with other international destinations – and that as well as developing existing ports, we also explore other possible anchoring sites around the Indian coast.”
Ms Nandan said the government had set a target of attracting 100,000 cruise passenger landings a year by the end of 2010.
There are also plans for more aggressive marketing of river cruises which are currently available on the Mandovi and Zuari rivers in Goa, the Brahmaputra in Assam, the Hooghly River in West Bengal and the backwaters of Kerala.
Details will be revealed at a press conference on Tuesday November 13, 2007 of the North Gallery at the ExCeL exhibition centre.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
