Cruise tourism in Mumbai, the busiest west Indian city, has witnessed steady growth overtime. India also has a large number of travellers who can choose to spend time at sea and explore the popular destinations at same time.
It is an increase in the income leading to a subsequent growth in purchasing power for India’s middle class has fuelled a rising demand for luxury travel.
The administration also seems to be taking note of these developments as it has been working towards making options like cruise tourism more accessible and affordable for Indians.
A cruise liner belonging to a top company like Costa setting sail from Mumbai is just what was needed for developing the city as a home port.
The presence of the Maharashtra’s Minister of Tourism Jayakumar Rawal along with the chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust Sanjay Bhatia at the launch shows that the administration is keen on working towards boosting tourism in Mumbai.
Mr Bhatia stated that the port of Mumbai currently has the capacity to host 80 ships, but a report suggests that it has the potential to host 700 ships and 32 lakh passengers once developed adequately.
This could work wonders for tourism since three lakh Indians presently travel abroad for boarding cruise ships and the number of domestic passengers may go up to 1.5 million by 2031-32. The Tourism Minister Jayakumar Rawal said that the shipping ministry plans to convert all six ports into cruise ports. He also lauded the Immigration Department for introducing e-visas at ports like Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and Chennai.
Mr Bhatia also announced the development of a cruise terminal on the lines of the international airport to facilitate steady growth in the sector. He also added that Mumbai to Goa cruises may set sail around the end of December.
Costa’s cruise liner called Costa neoClassica with 654 cabins including suites with private balconies along with a casino, theater, ballroom and a wellness centre spread across 1500 sq. m, will leave from Mumbai every alternate Sunday. The four night cruise to Kochi is priced under Rs 30000 and the seven night cruise to Maldives will cost Rs 40000 making it affordable for Indian travellers.
