The Hindu Business Line : Kochi port cruising towards tourism

If everything goes well, the port city of Kochi will have one of the world’s finest international cruise terminals-cum-public plazas by 2010, marking the dawn of a new era in India’s port-based tourism.

Work on the preparation of a feasibility report and business plan by consultants appointed for the purpose is progressing well. A consortium comprising MIR Projects & Consultants Pvt Ltd, Kochi, and Transystems USA has been awarded the consultancy contract at a cost of Rs 78.5 lakh after global bidding.

The Port Chairman, Mr N. Ramachandran, said the final feasibility report and business plan would be ready by the end of this month. Then it will be submitted for necessary government approvals for initiating the bidding process. The work on the project is expected to commence in May 2008.

The terminal and plaza will be located on 12 acres of prime waterfront area in the northern end of Willingdon island. The project is one of the development schemes of Kochi Port included in the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP) launched by the Shipping Ministry.

A Public-Private-Participation model has been proposed. To ensure the economic viability of the project, a part of the cruise terminal will be developed as an accessible public destination offering entertainment and recreation, hospitality, dining, shopping, culture and arts, business centre, conferences and trade exhibitions.

Surge in arrivals

The Chairman said the port had witnessed a surge in the arrival of cruise vessels in the recent past, the number of vessels touched 38 in 2006-07 against 11 in 2002-03. Tourist arrivals had also gone up considerably in the recent period. Hence, the Port intends to gear up to improve its services and develop infrastructure for increased cruise traffic and passengers alike, he said.

There was enough potential at Kochi to not only cater to cruise passengers but also to act as a crew change over port. Drawing from its natural advantage of being cradled in God’s Own Country as well as on the maritime highway connecting the Far East and Australia to Europe, the port had embarked on an ambitious business strategy to project itself as a major cruise destination in the region, he added.

The Cruise Tourism Potential and Strategy Study carried out by the Union Government had recommended creating cruise terminals to make India a strong cruise destination. The study also suggested setting up dedicated cruise terminals at Mumbai, Kochi and Goa and up-grade port facilities at exotic locations such as Lakshadweep and Andamans.

Riding opportunity wave

The report also pointed out that ports constitute the core infrastructure requirement for the cruise sector. If India wishes to integrate her position in the market, the ports would have to meet international standards of infrastructure, passenger services, linkages, other conveniences and amenities. Whereas major airports in the country are designed to international standards, most Indian ports lack dedicated facilities for cruise tourism, the report said.

India is ranked the ninth most popular tourist destination in the world. It is estimated that by 2010-2011, India can expect 1,84,710 cruise tourists and by 2030-31, a market size of 1.2 million. According to feedback from domestic and foreign tourists, Kochi, Goa and Mumbai are considered best for cruise tourism in India. Goa is the most attractive destination for domestic tourists and Kochi of foreign tourists.

Today, around 315 vessels are cruising around the world. Around 150 ships can call at Indian ports, off season, in routes such as vessels plying from the US West Coast to Hong Kong, Singapore to South-East Asia and Gulf/Mediterranean, S Africa to US East Coast. India’s strategy would lie in pulling these cruise vessels to its shores by creating necessary infrastructure and attractions.

The Cruise Tourism policy should stress the need to change the traditional concept of terminal development, ownership and operations and underline active participation of all private stakeholders. According to the study report, the Government has identified six Indian ports to be developed as World Class Cruise terminals and to be promoted as an integrated Indian cruise circuit. These are Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, New Mangalore, Tuticorin and Chennai.