Union Budget 2024: Cruise tourism in India gets major boost in Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech
Industry data showed that cruise tourism in India has hit a new high, with footfall touching 4.7 lakh in 2023-24, higher than the pre-pandemic period. Out of this, over four lakhs were domestic tourists.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented her seventh successive Union Budget. In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said that there was tremendous potential for cruise tourism in India and announced a simpler tax regime for foreign companies.
What Niramala Sitharaman said
"There is tremendous potential for cruise tourism in India. To give a fillip to this employment-generating industry, I am proposing a simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating domestic cruises in the country," Sitharaman said.
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Rise in cruise tourism in India
In recent years, cruise tourism has seen a significant rise in interest. Industry data showed that cruise tourism in India has hit a new high, with footfall touching 4.7 lakh in 2023-24, higher than the pre-pandemic period. Out of this, over four lakhs were domestic tourists.
India's cruise tourism potential
According to the Ministry of Tourism, India, with its vast and beautiful coastline, virgin forests and undisturbed idyllic islands, rich historical and cultural heritage, can be a fabulous tourist destination for cruise tourists. International cruise ships have also been coming to ports in Mumbai, Goa, New Mangaluru, and Kochi throughout the tourism season.
Also read: This man quit his plumber job and is traveling the world on cruise ships while getting paid for it
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Domestic cruise tourism routes
Apart from this, the likes of Cordelia Cruises and Costa Cruise are currently operating domestic cruises in the Arabian Sea. Some of the most popular domestic cruise tourism routes include Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Diu, Mumbai-Kochi, Mumbai-Lakshadweep, Mumbai-High Seas, and Chennai-Vizag.
River cruise
In addition to this, the government has also been pushing to promote river cruise tourism through nine waterways, including the Varanasi-Haldia stretch of the Ganga and the Dhubri-Sadiya stretch of the Brahmaputra.
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MV Ganga Vials
In January 2023, MV Ganga Vilas, the world's longest luxury river cruise covering a distance of around 4,000 km, made its first voyage from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, traveling through Kolkata and Dhaka.
Also read: Ganga Vilas, World's Longest River Cruise Completes Maiden Voyage
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In June this year, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal had said that to develop inland waterways as drivers of economic growth and commerce in the country, an investment of Rs 45,000 crore for the development of river cruise tourism in the country has been planned.
Of this ambitious sum, an estimated Rs 35,000 crore has been earmarked for cruise vessels and another Rs 10,000 crore for the development of cruise terminal infrastructure by the end of 2047.
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