Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday unveiled plans for holiday cruises from Mumbai to Bali, Indonesia, via Kochi and Andaman and Nicobar. He also said that norms for sea plane operations would be finalised shortly.
The minister, speaking to the press on the side lines of a government function in the city, said that Indian tourists visit Singapore, Bangkok, Bali, and that a lakh of Indian tourists travel to Singapore to take cruise holidays; instead they could take a cruise there. “This will become a big tourism attraction. Our effort is to develop cruise tourism here.”
On the seaplane tourism initiative, Mr. Gadkari said, “All rules have been formalised by Air Traffic Control authorities. It will be finalised this month.” He also said that a convention of travel and tourism operators was being organised in Mumbai to discuss development of the holiday cruise industry along the Western coast.