Cruise tourism could see three-fold rise in passenger traffic

NEW DELHI: The country's cruise tourism industry may see an over three-fold rise in the number of domestic and international passengers to 6 lakh a year by 2010 if infrastructure is given a priority, says a study. Streamlining immigration and custom checks processes and giving a boost to infrastructure development would also be required to achieve the target for cruise tourism industry, which has about 1,80,000 passenger traffic in a year at present, according to a study by FICCI-Evalueserve.

The study notes that the industry is growing and the number of cruise liners entering India is increasing fast. In 2007-2008, 54 cruise companies sought permission to enter the Indian circuit. Not only international players are taking interest but the domestic players are also coming forward and setting up operations.

The study suggests that to make India a around-the-year cruise destination, greater participation of private players is needed. The number of Indians opting for international cruises is also increasing, with several Indians visiting destinations in the South-East Asia and the Far-East, the study noted.