New Delhi: To position India as a preferred destination for cruise tourism globally, Union tourism ministry has drafted a National Strategy for Cruise Tourism for various states, said an official. Accordingly, the Central government would step up efforts to develop suitable infrastructure, market development, ease of doing business for cruise tourism and encourage investments in the cruise tourism across the country.
The ministry of tourism, as part of its on-going activities, has released global print, electronic and online media campaigns in important, and potential markets overseas, under the ‘Incredible India’ brand-line, to promote various tourism destinations and products of the country.
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Officials of the ministry said that they had planned skill development of local youths and entrepreneurs for their capacity building to thrive on the cruise tourism opportunities by offering institutional structure and governance support, besides providing financial assistance to the state governments/UT administrations and Central government agencies for development of tourism including cruise tourism and cruising along rivers, under the scheme for ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure development’.
Ministry of tourism partnered with ministry of ports, shipping and waterways (MoPS&W) during the 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference. The conference showcased abundant business opportunities in cruise tourism sector including river cruising. The conference was attended by more than 300 delegates including major global cruise lines viz, MSC, Carnival, RCCL, Costa, Cordelia, Holland America group etc.
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As conveyed by the MoPS&W, India has taken cruise tourism promotion and campaign to International cruise events by actively participating in International forums viz Sea-Trade Miami, Dubai etc. The infrastructure developed for transportation on National Waterways (NWs) by Indian Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) including fairway, terminals, jetties, navigation aids etc. could be used for the river tourism operators also.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi had flagged off the world’s longest river cruise on 13th January 2023 from Varanasi on NW-1 (River Ganga) to Dibrugarh NW-2 (River Brahmaputra) via Bangladesh, which has been successfully completed by covering waterway distance of 3200 km on February 28, 2023 at Dibrugarh, Assam.
