• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the “world’s longest river cruise” — MV Ganga Vilas, which will cover 3,200 kilometres across 27 river systems in five states in India and Bangladesh in 51 days.

• The PM also inaugurated a Tent City at Varanasi, developed on the banks of the Ganga opposite the famed ghats of the holy city, to tap the tourism potential of the region.

• The beginning of the cruise service on river Ganga is a landmark moment and it will herald a new age of tourism in India, the Prime Minister said. Modi added that the river cruise will promote tourism and create new job opportunities. 

• With support from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the ministry of shipping, ports and waterways, the success of this service is likely to enthuse entrepreneurs to explore river cruise in other parts of the country.

MV Ganga Vilas

• MV Ganga Vilas is the first-ever cruise vessel to be made in India and it began its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and will reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh.

• The luxury cruise has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the luxury amenities.

• The maiden voyage has 32 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire length of the journey.

• The 51-day cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including world heritage sites, national parks, river ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.

• The journey will give the tourists an opportunity to embark upon an experiential voyage and indulge in the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.

• The MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 meters in length, 12 meters in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 meters.

• It has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the amenities to provide a memorable and luxurious experience for the tourists. The ship follows sustainable principles at its core as it is equipped with pollution-free mechanisms and noise control technologies.

• From the famous “Ganga Aarti” in Varanasi, it will stop at Sarnath, a place of great reverence for Buddhism. It will also cover Mayong, known for its Tantric craft, and Majuli, the largest river island and hub of Vaishnavite culture in Assam. 

• The travellers will also visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University, allowing them to soak in the rich Indian heritage in spirituality and knowledge. The cruise will also traverse through the biodiversity rich World Heritage Sites of Sunderbans in Bay of Bengal delta, famous for Royal Bengal Tigers, as well as Kaziranga National Park, famous for one-horned rhino.

Tent City at Varanasi

• Tent City at Varanasi has been conceptualised on the banks of the river Ganga to tap the potential of tourism in the region.

• The project has been developed opposite to city ghats which will provide accommodation facilities and cater to the increased tourist influx in Varanasi, especially since the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The tourists will reach the Tent City by boats from different ghats situated in the vicinity.

• The tent city will be operational from October to June every year and will be dismantled for three months due to the rise in river water level in the rainy season.

What is cruise tourism?

• Cruise tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing components of the leisure industry worldwide.

• Cruise tourism involves an all-inclusive holiday on a cruise ship, whereby the ship calls at several ports or cities on a specific itinerary. It is a tourism product that offers and combines attractions, activities, access, accommodation and amenities. The nature of cruise ships makes them as destinations in themselves, where features and amenities are comparable or even superior to resorts on land.

• The cruise industry is one of the largest growing sectors in the tourism industry globally.

• But this industry, much like airlines, can be heavily dependent on world events and the world economy. It has been heavily impacted by health related concerns like COVID-19 pandemic.

• North America and Europe are large cruise markets in the world. Europe has been driving growth with around a large share of river cruise vessels in the world with rivers Danube in Europe and Yangtze in China dominating the river cruise market globally.

Cruise tourism in India

• The coastline of India and its inland waterways have enormous potential to develop cruise tourism, both international and domestic.

• The domestic river cruise industry is at a nascent stage with an initial focus on NW 1 (Ganga) and NW 2 (Brahmaputra).

• However, this segment of tourism also got impacted due to COVID-19 pandemic and is now looking at revival.

• India aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 4 lakh at present to 4 million. The economic potential of cruise tourism is expected to go up from $110 million to $5.5 billion in the years to come.

• In India, eight river cruise vessels are operational between Kolkata and Varanasi while cruise movement is also operational on NW 2 (Brahmaputra).

• Tourism activities like river rafting, camping, sightseeing, kayaking and so on are in operation in many spots in the country. 

• The construction of 10 passenger terminals across NW 2 are going on which will further bolster the prospect of river cruise. At present, four river cruise vessels are operational in NW 2 while it is operating in limited capacity in NW 3 (West Coast Canal), NW 8, NW 4, NW 87, NW 97, and NW 5. 

• As the capital expenditure is pumped to build capacity in the inland waterways, the river cruise is set to grow further with systematic forward and backward linkage for the economy, especially across the banks of the rivers.

Initiatives to boost cruise tourism in India

• The Cruise Shipping Policy of the ministry of shipping was approved by the government in June 2008. The objectives of the policy are to make India as an attractive cruise tourism destination with the state-of-the-art infrastructural and other facilities at various ports in the country.

• Identification, diversification, development, and promotion of niche tourism products in the country is the initiative of the tourism ministry to overcome the aspect of ‘seasonality’ and to promote India as a 365 days’ destination, to attract tourists with specific interest, and to ensure repeat visits for the unique products in which India has a comparative advantage. 

• The ministry has identified cruise tourism as a niche product for development and promotion.

• To boost the cruise tourism industry in the country, the government has taken several initiatives, including infrastructure upgradation, rationalisation of port fees, removing ousting charges, granting priority berthing to cruise ships, and providing e-visa facilities, among others.

• Development and promotion of tourist destinations and products, including cruise tourism, is primarily the responsibility of the respective state government/Union Territory administration. 

• The ministry of tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to the central government agencies for development of tourism, including cruise tourism and cruising along rivers on receipt of complete proposals under the Scheme of ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development’. The government has sanctioned Rs 228.61 crore for various projects on developing cruise terminals and related infrastructure at major ports under the scheme.

• The ministry has identified Coastal Circuit as one of the 15 thematic circuits for development under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and provides financial assistance to various states/UTs for various tourism projects, which may include components related to cruise tourism.

• The facility for e-tourist visa has been extended to passengers arriving at ports of Mumbai, Mormugao, Mangaluru, Cochin and Chennai and immigration counters have been set up at five major ports visited by cruise ships, thus facilitating the cruise passenger arrivals at the seaports.

• To address manpower, coordination and logistic issues for handling cruise vessels at ports, ‘Port Level Facilitation Committees’ have been formed under the respective Chairman of the major ports to facilitate seamless handling of cruise ships and passengers.

• The Maritime Vision 2030 talks about the significant untapped potential river cruise has across national waterways. Linking river and sea tourism between inland and coastal cities as well as with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand could provide a unique experience to passengers.

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