The union government has targeted doubling of sea cruise traffic to one million by March 2029 through an ambitious plan that involves development of new terminals, marinas among others.

Minister of Shipping, Ports and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal announced the target while unveiling the Cruise Bharat Mission in Mumbai on Monday. The mission will be implemented in three phases between 2024-2029.

The government's big push for developing cruise tourism comes in the backdrop of a simpler tax regime for foreign vessels. Cruise traffic handled by ports in India rose by 10 per cent year-on-year driven by an increase in foreign ship arrivals. However, the Red Sea crisis which has disrupted global trade has cast a shadow on the cruise sector too and few planned voyages have been shelved.

The government however remains optimistic. Sonowal said India will become the global hub for cruise tourism and the mission will also create four lakh jobs in the sector. Cruise circuits will be designed to promote the cultural and historic heritage of the country, he said.

Three phases

While phase one of the mission till September 2025 will consist of formulating master plans and alliances with neighbouring countries, the second phase between 2025-2027 will focus on developing new terminals and marinas. The third phase between 2027-2029 will focus on integrating the cruise circuits across the sub continent.

The government hopes to double sea cruise passenger traffic to one million by March 2029 and increase port calls by ships from 125 to 500. Number of international cruise terminals will grow from 2 to 10 by 2029. The mission will also result in 1.5 million river cruise passengers and river cruise terminals will increase from 50 to 100.

"The government's vision will become a reality when international brands start home porting at our ports. Taxation will need to be rationalised as per international norms for international cruise liners to consider turnarounds. All said and done, the government is very proactive now and I am sure that the vision of getting India on the global cruise tourism map will be realised sooner than later," said Ratna Chadha, chairperson of Tirun Travel Marketing, representative of Royal Caribbean Cruises in India.