India Unveils Reforms to Boost Cruise Tourism

 

"The Ministry of Shipping, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism, has announced reforms to the regulatory processes governing the cruise tourism industry in the country," an official statement said.

 

The objective is to revolutionize this industry which has a high employment generation potential, by simplifying the rules and procedures pertaining to various aspects of cruise port operations like security, immigration, and customs. 

 

According to Special Secretary, Shipping, Alok Srivastava, the promotion of cruise tourism requires not just improvement in infrastructure but also uniformity, transparency and predictability in the procedures followed by multiple government  organizations. "In other words, Ease of Doing Business is critical for the success of cruise tourism,” it added.

 

The reforms are based on the recommendations of a global consultant engaged by the Ministry to draw up an Action Plan for providing a customer friendly and hassle free logistics process for the cruise tourism industry and develop an enabling ecosystem necessary to promote and sustain cruise shipping in India.

 

A committee has been set up to work out the modalities and requirements for implementing the above recommendations in a time bound manner

 

The Consultants have also been asked to suggest five  potential cruise circuits for international, domestic and river cruise, that can be immediately taken up for development and to prepare Techno-Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR) for these circuits.  

 

Specific ports/terminal would also be considered for development for international cruise tourism as per a suggested Model Terminal Design, and suitable policy/regulatory framework based on international best practices, strategies of cruise terminal operation.