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New Delhi, Aug 31 To achieve the government target of attracting six lakh cruise tourists by 2010, India needs to improve the poor infrastructure at ports, high cost of infrastructure development and low returns on investment in the cruise business. Currently about one lakh domestic tourists and 80,000 international tourists visit the ports every year.

To make India an around-the-year cruise destination, greater participation of private players is needed, says a FICCI-Evalueserve study.

Cruising seems to attract rich and affluent tourists in the 60-80 age group, who constitute 40 per cent to cruise tourism revenues, it says. Introduction of suitably priced holiday packages is expected to attract the Indian middle class estimated at 400 million people, said the study.

Streamlining immigration and custom checks processes and giving a boost to infrastructure development would also be required to achieve the target for cruise tourism industry.

The study notes that the industry is growing and the number of cruise liners entering India is increasing fast. In 2007-08, 54 cruise companies sought permission to enter the Indian circuit. Not only international players are taking interest but the domestic players are also coming forward and setting up operations.

The number of Indians opting for international cruises is also increasing, with several Indians visiting destinations in the South-East Asia and the Far-East, the study noted.

More Stories on : Tourism | Industry Associations

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