SINGAPORE: India is fast emerging as a potential destination for the cruise tourism and some new port developers in that country are in talks with international cruise management consultants for setting up terminals that can handle an estimated 200,000 passengers per year, a senior industry official has said.
Pointing to the growing middle class with strong propensity to travel, Christopher Hayman, chairman of Seatrade, which regularly organises marine industry events, said "India is a huge untapped market."
"India is a potential destination and source market for cruise tourism. I know that the some of the (Indian) ports are already in conversation with one of the major cruise terminal consultants," he said yesterday after launching Seatrade's marine industry conference, Sea Asia Voice, to be held here in April 9-11, 2019.
"That (discussions with consultants) would be very productive," he added.
He also said that Indian government is also taking initiatives to promote cruise terminals, for inbound and outbound tourists.
He said, according to an estimate, there are over 200,000 Indian cruise passengers a year.
"India is seen as a very exciting opportunity for the future. We are going to see more activities from major cruise liners and interest from India to develop the country as a destination for cruise calls and India as a source market for passengers cruising worldwide," he stressed.
The cruise industry is always in search of new itinerary opportunity and in order to develop these itineraries it needs cruise terminal facilities to accommodate the ships, Hayman said, adding that cruise liners are expanding strongly in Asia and China has become an established market with more than 2 million passengers a year.