Sarbananda Sonowal flags off Costa Serena's maiden domestic operations

The maiden domestic sailing of the international cruise vessel Costa Serena was flagged off by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal in Mumbai on Friday.

The vessel will sail between domestic destinations such as Mumbai, Cochin, Goa, and Lakshadweep.

The cruise company Costa Cruises is looking at having close to 45,000 passengers in the short sailing from November 4, 2023, to January 12 next year.

"The launch of Costa Cruises' domestic sailings in India signifies the dawn of a new era in cruising and tourism," Sonowal said at the cruise's launch.

He added that the government had undertaken initiatives to promote the industry of cruise tourism in the country.

Sonowal said that among other steps, the government has offered conditional Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) exemption to foreign flag-foreign going vessel when it converts to coastal run, that reduces the financial burden on foreign cruise operators.

"There are guaranteed berths to cruise ships, removal of ousting charges, concessional uniform single rate for all major ports, volume discounts in cruise tariff up to 30 per cent for domestic cruise ships, waiver of cabotage for foreign cruise vessels, uniform standard operating procedures for customs, immigrations, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), ports, upgradation and modernisation of cruise terminals with enhanced passenger facilities," he said.

Over the past ten years, cruise ship calls and the total number of passengers handled has increased to 227 calls and 4.72 lakh passengers in the financial year 2022-23 from 102 calls and 84,000 passengers in the financial year 2013-14, the minister explained.

The government plans to increase the annual number of cruise passengers in India to 1.8 million passengers by 2030.

As per the Maritime India Vision 2047 in the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 in Mumbai, it is projected that India will have 25 operational cruise terminals by 2047, with an estimated annual passenger count of approximately 5 million cruise passengers, the government said.

The Centre aims to establish India as the premier cruise hub in the Asia Pacific region.

"To achieve this goal, significant steps are being taken, including the development of state-of-the-art cruise terminals, the implementation of standardized procedures, and the introduction of e-visa facilities, among other measures," Sonowal added.