Promising cruise season on charts

MUMBAI: Cruise tourism seems to be finding its moorings in Indian waters. During the coming cruise season, which begins from October, India would see many more and bigger cruise vessels touching its shores.

Besides Mumbai Port, which pioneered the trend by setting up a dedicated cruise terminal last year, the emerging industry would see ports like Goa and Kochi joining the course in a more meaningful way with their own services. For example, Goa will have services using it as a home port.

Besides the usual players like Star Cruises, Cunard Lines, P&O Cruises, Oceania Cruises, and Hapag Lloyd, there would be newer players including cruise major Costa Cruises touching Indian shores.

According to Mumbai Port sources, there are even enquiries from local investors to set up similar services from Mumbai. “However, it is very sketchy at this point of time,” he said without mentioning anything more about the New Delhi-based party.

Last year, Mumbai Port saw its cruise tourism foray registering substantial increase in the number of international liners coming at the port. From 21 calls, the port notched up 31 ship calls. There were 127 calls for domestic cruises this year compared to 99 the year before. According to a port official, Star Cruises alone bought over 66681 passengers with an occupancy rate of over 50%.

With increasing awareness and attractiveness of the various products made available to the cruising public, the figure is bound to double during the current season, according to Star Cruises’ sources.

“Starting of Star Cruises was a good move by a leading industry player. But there should have been more stress on creating awareness, agents could have been made more powerful and their commission could have been made more attractive,” said a local travel agent.

Asked about the efforts of Mumbai Port, with its dedicate cruise tourism terminal, to promote the activity, the agent, who is a leading member of Travel Agents Federation of India, said he is yet to hear anything.

“Travel agents are those who promote a product like this. The government is not a professional body with regard to tourism promotion. Whatever it does will have a limited impact. It is evident that their effects fail to deliver the desired impact because it lack marketing finesse,” he said.

“I am not happy with the progress we have achieved,” said another travel agent, Ramesh Mansukhani of Venture Travel Services, Mumbai. “Not happy because it is going very slow despite there are more people who want to go and enjoy such activities.”

He said the pricing is not an issue, as the Star Cruises prices are quite attractive for Indian people and the packaging is attractive too, he added.

Meanwhile, Star Cruises’ new general manager for India Sarosh Khatib is confident to take the present occupancy rate to 75 per cent in the coming season. Unlike earlier, Star Libra would be offering four sailings per week, he said, adding, “there would be two one-night cruises ex-Mumbai – on Fridays and Saturdays – instead of just one operated earlier.”

According to him, one-night cruises are more popular among his clients and therefore they are adding one more one-night cruise ex-Mumbai instead of one they had last year. Besides, they will introduce a similar outing from Goa on Mondays every alternate week.

Similarly, Star Cruises would be downgrading the four-night cruises to just three-night ones as it was found to be more preferred by Indians.

With these additions, Start Cruises is hopeful of attracting 1.20 lakh passengers this year. Among the efforts to popularize these trips, the company is planning to market its cruises abroad as well. With existing fun spots abroad losing their charm, India has a lot to offer, he reasoned out for the increasing trend of tourist inflows.

The government, on its part, is working towards providing a policy guideline for cruise tourism in the country with a high power steering group being set up under the chairmanship of the minister for shipping, with tourism and culture minister as co-chairperson. Other ports like Cochin Port is busy setting up the required infrastructure to boost the business.