The Hindu Business Line : Cruise tourism gains momentum in India

"Welcome on board. We are on a 105-day round-the-world voyage. The `Incredible India' is among our most important ports of call," said Steve, the manager on board Ms Amsterdam, greeting a group of visitors to the luxury cruise ship that was in Mumbai harbour last week.

"This is my second visit to this fascinating country. Some of our guests have disembarked at Kochi and Goa to tour the country. Some others want to spend more time in Mumbai and will fly to Dubai, our next port of call.

Steve's words would be encouraging for the Shipping Minister, Mr T. R. Baalu who is currently drafting a new Cruise Shipping Policy. Ms Amsterdam is the 34th cruise vessel calling at Mumbai port in the current season, started from October. Mumbai port officials expect at least five more ships to arrive before the onset of monsoon in June.

"We expect 39-40 cruise ships this season as against 21 last year," said an official of Mumbai port, which has recently floated tenders for building a Rs 200-crore new cruise terminal.

If the number of international cruise lines calling at Indian ports, mainly at Mumbai, Goa and Kochi — major ports of call for cruise lines — is any indication, the country is emerging as a major destination for cruise tourism.

The details of the proposed cruise policy are not known, but Mr Baalu had stated in the current session of Parliament that its objective is to make India a major destination for cruise shipping.

To begin with, the plan is understood to be to build cruise terminals of international standards at major ports on the western coast. The policy is expected to spell out incentive schemes to cruise operators in India.

According to analysts, the development of cruise shipping has to be viewed from different angles to get a correct perspective of the sector. The tourist traffic, both inbound and outbound, is growing. With tour operators offering special packages and incentives more people from India are going for exotic voyages, said an official with a leading travel agency.

"Last year we'd a group of 35 from Bangalore for our 10-day South Antarctica cruise. They'd asked for idli, dosa, sambar and rasam. We hired a special chef to cook those south India delicacies, as the rest of the people on board were Europeans," says Ms Richa Goyal Sikri, Director, Stick Travels, which represents in India of Holland America Line that operates 13 cruise ships including Ms Amsterdam.

There are more Indians now going for international cruises. But most of them prefer one-week or 10-day cruises rather than the long voyages that the Americans and Europeans seek. That was evident on board Ms Amsterdam.

There were no Indians among the 1,300 tourists on board taking a 105-day round the world voyage. Most of them were from the US and Canada.

Cost is a major factor. While one can buy a week-long cruise in Caribbean or Alaska for $600-700, the long voyages of more than 100 days cost a minimum of $40,000 on a luxury liner.

Says Ms Sikri , for many of these elderly people on board, the cruise works out cheaper and more comfortable than staying alone in their homes. Unlike in other cruise lines, everything is free on Ms Amsterdam. You don't have to pay separately for gym, salon and other health and entertainment services."

With the launching of India-based cruising by Start Cruise from Mumbai two yeas ago, a number of people are going in for local cruises. The Star now offers corporates special packages for on-board conference and seminars as well as to families for special occasions.

"We offers three packages, Mumbai to Goa, Mumbai to Lakshwadeep and an overnight sail in Mumbai. All the three are doing well, said Mr Naresh Rawal, Marketing head of Star Cruise, the first India-dedicated cruise service.

But, according to him, cruises is still a developing concept in the country. Indians are generally not inclined to towards long sailing and a four-to-five night package is considered ideal, he said.

A major issue hurting cruise operations in India is the passenger amenities, which are abysmally poor at all port terminals.

This would be resolved once the dedicated cruise terminals are built at major ports as proposed. In the meantime, port authorities should ensue that minimum facilities are available at the existing terminals.