Ten more luxury liners have cancelled trips to Kochi due to the tense situation prevailing in the Arabian Sea. In October, six vessels had earlier confirmed the cancellation of trips. According to official sources at the Kochi Port, 24 vessels had confirmed trips to Kochi earlier from October to December and the cancellations are a setback to the revenue of the port and the tourism industry in the state.
The peak season for the luxury ships is the October-March period. During the period last year, 38 vessels visited the Kochi Port and the authorities were expecting more ships this season.
A senior official of the port said they expected at least 45 ships this time. Only three vessels -- =====Olivia, Star Flair and Silver Shadow===== -- called on Kochi. =====Silver Shadow, which has a capacity of more than 400, had only 110 passengers, mostly from the UK and the US.
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Due to the US military action in Afghanistan, the number of passengers in the luxury liners have reduced by 60 per cent, a tour operator said. The hospitality industry, which has tremendous potential in the state, has been heavily affected by the war in Afghanistan.
Reportedly more than 70 per cent of the foreign tourists has cancelled trips to the 'God's Own Country'. During the last season more than one lakh foreign tourists had visited the state and the revenue of the state exchequer about Rs 500 crore. According to the sources at airline offices, all the chartered flights have cancelled schedule to Thiruvananthapuram. During the last season, 40 chartered flights had reached Kerala.