Mumbai: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the maiden voyage of ‘Costa Serena’, the first domestic sailing of an International Cruise Liner in India, from Mumbai today.
‘Costa Cruises’, Italy, is part of Carnival Corporation, one of the largest cruising conglomerates in the world with reputed cruise brands.
The launch of Costa Cruises’ domestic sailings has been made possible by a series of initiatives taken by the government to promote and revitalize the cruise tourism industry in India.
These measures include guaranteed berths for cruise ships, removal of ousting charges, concessional uniform single rate for all major ports, volume discounts in cruise tariff up to 30% for domestic cruise ships, waiver of cabotage for foreign cruise vessels, uniform standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Customs, Immigrations, CISF, Ports, upgradation and modernization of cruise terminals with enhance passenger facilities.
One of the most significant steps in this journey taken recently was the conditional IGST exemption to foreign flag foreign going vessels when it converts to coastal run, which substantially reduced the financial burden on foreign cruise operators.
As a result of these initiatives, from 102 Cruise ship Calls and 84,000 Passengers handled in 2013-14, the tally went up to 227 calls and 4.72 lakh passengers during 2022-23 representing an increase of 223% in cruise calls and 461% in cruise passengers in the last 9 years. River cruise tourism has also seen a 180% rise in operations during the last 9 years.
An increasing number of international cruise liners are demonstrating a growing interest in the Indian cruising industry, and numerous new services are in the pipeline and expected to start soon, promising a vibrant future for this burgeoning sector, the Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways stated.
Development of cruise tourism and lighthouse tourism are being actively considered under MoPSW’s flagship scheme ‘Sagarmala Programme’. For promoting tourism in maritime states under ‘Sagarmala’, projects have been identified in convergence with the Ministry of Tourism and tourism development departments of maritime state governments.
Over the last nine years, the ‘Sagarmala Programme’ has completed 11 projects worth Rs.267 crores promoting coastal and cruise tourism and island development. Some of these projects include the Cruise Passenger Facilitation Centre at Chennai, the construction of the International Cruise Terminal at Cochin and the development of Cruise Berthing and Cruise Passenger facilities at Mormugao Port.
Under the Maritime India Vision 2030, the Government envisions establishing India as the premier cruise hub in the Asia Pacific region. To achieve this goal, steps are being taken, including the development of state-of-the-art cruise terminals, the implementation of standardized procedures, and the introduction of e-visa facilities, among other measures. Going forward, the objective is to increase the annual number of cruise passengers in India to 18 lakhs by 2030, up from the current figure of 4.72 lakhs.
In accordance with the ‘Maritime Amritkaal Vision 2047’ launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recently concluded Global Maritime India Summit 2023 in Mumbai, it is projected that India will have 25 operational cruise terminals by 2047, with an estimated annual passenger count of approximately 5 million cruise passengers per year.
The government is also planning to launch a well-defined and consistent cruise tourism policy in line with international standards and practices. This policy will encompass various critical aspects such as GST, taxation, excise, and customs duties, both at the central and state levels, to foster the growth of this emerging industry within India.
– global bihari bureau
