Easy entry norms for cruise liners on the cards

Cruise liners may soon find India an attractive destination with the government considering a set of proposals for promoting cruise tourism in the country.

A committee, headed by Mumbai Port Trust Chairman Rani Jhadav and comprising representatives from immigration, Customs and tourism departments, has recommended the introduction of single-entry visas for cruise tourists and an exemption for foreign cruise vessels from cabotage laws for a period of five years.

At present, tourists arriving on a cruise liner have to get a visa issued for each place they visit once they disembark. The committee has said that there should instead be a single entry visa at the point of entry.

As a result, cruise tourists can enjoy hassle-free travel across various regions during the period the vessel stays in the Indian waters.

The government would have to amend the Foreigners Order, 1948 for empowering the immigration officers to issue such visas.

The committee, in its report, has also said that exempting foreign cruise vessels from the purview of the cabotage laws, which requires them to take a licence from the Director General of Shipping, would encourage domestic tourists to travel on foreign cruise vessels over short distances.

The committee has noted that even though the existing Customs rules are conducive enough for cruise tourism, some changes will still be required in procedures.

The Customs authorities should issue the necessary executive orders providing for intransit bonds to facilitate transfer of luggage between air and sea ports.

Moreover, for speedy clearance, the Customs department should provide X-ray luggage scanning machines and post adequate number of officers for ensuring smooth flow of tourists to and from the vessels.

The committee has also recommended that, instead of issuing a separate temporary landing pass (TLP) for each port, the TLPs should be made valid for all Indian ports of call in the cruise circuit. The immigration officials may issue a TLP even if the tourist does not possess a visa.

Cruise tourism in India is an unexploited area, with only 35 cruise ships calling on Indian ports in a year, according to a port official.

In fact, the trend is that tourists from cruise vessels stationed in Dubai and Singapore visit India and fly back.

This is despite the fact that India has declared an Indian cruise circuit comprising five ports "" Mumbai, Goa, New Mangalore, Cochin and Tuticorin. The government also plans to develop world class cruise terminals at these ports.