KOCHI: Marking the beginning of the cruise season at Cochin Port, MV Europa 2, an international luxury cruise ship, made its maiden visit to the new cruise terminal Sagarika at Ernakulam wharf on Tuesday. This is the first visit by an international cruise ship after two years. The cruise liner is carrying 257 tourists and 372 crew. The guests are predominantly from Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. The ship docked at the port for a one-day visit and sailed onwards to Thailand on Tuesday.
“The cruise business was the first fatality of the pandemic across the globe. Therefore, the revival of the cruise business augurs well for local economies since it is the most prolific segment of the tourism industry and generates significant employment,” said M Beena, chairperson of Cochin Port Authority.
She said the government remains focused on promoting cruise tourism and it is supported by a slew of business promotions such as the extension of rationalised cruise tariff till September 2023 and easing of immigration procedure.
“During the current cruise season, from September 2022 to May 2023, Cochin Port will play host to 20 international cruise calls. Of these 20 calls, Cochin would be the first port of call for five cruise ships. Three ships MV Borealis, MV Amera and MV Le Champlain, will be making their maiden call at Cochin.
According to Jacob Thomas of Marvel Tours, the tourists from the cruise ship went sightseeing after deboarding. “Around 40 of them went sightseeing at Fort Kochi and Mattancherry while more than 45 of them took a trip to Alappuzha. This time around no trip was made to Vaikom or Kumbalangi,” he said. The remaining tourists went on rides in autorickshaws and backwater cruises.
India Tourism and DTPC, Ernakulam, have made arrangements at Sagarika to welcome the guests and offer them the experience of a lifetime. Besides the fully equipped cruise terminal Sagarika, the DTPC is providing pre-paid taxi and autorickshaw counters, a tourist information desk of India Tourism, free wifi and buggies to transport guests to and from the ship to the terminal.