Among the five ports for cruise namely Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Chennai and Mumbai, the port to receive the largest number of cruise ships has been Mumbai. The chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, Sanjay Bhatia, has even claimed that Mumbai will continue to dominate in India in terms of cruise line service.
Mumbai Port Trust is already reshaping itself as a cruise port. The foreign cruise vessel Costa Victoria is going to be home-ported in the Mumbai Port Trust. It is the largest ever foreign cruise ship to be home-ported in India. With 259 cruise ships to be received in 2019-2020, Mumbai is emerging as a cruise destination. It is estimated that almost 1.8 lakh passengers would be accommodated in the total aggregate of the ships. Previously this number was limited to around 38,000 in the year 2015-16 with the number of ships being 40. In fact, Mumbai’s cruise contribution on the national level exceeds over 50%. This implies that the rest of the ports, even if they are put together, comprise less investment in cruise lining service than Mumbai alone does.
In order to incorporate the growing number of cruise ships, the present terminal building of Mumbai is being replaced by an entirely new terminal which is estimated to be ten times large than the one it is replacing.
The massive emergence of Mumbai Port has happened because of the emphasis laid on it by the Union Shipping Ministry and Mumbai port authorities. This has been done keeping in mind the ease of operation of overseas and domestic cruise lines.
ANGRIYA CRUISE SHIP
In the year 2018, India’s first-ever cruise ship service for passengers got started. This Mumbai to Goa cruise ship is none other than the Angriya. This Mumbai to Goa cruise ship Angriya, named after the legendary figure of Maratha Navy Admiral Kanhoji Angre (also known as Shivaji of the Indian Ocean), is a product of the joint venture between Mumbai Port Trust and Angriya Sea Eagle Private Limited.
Angriya made history not only by being the first cruise service ship but it also set the foundation of cruise ship service industry in India. Mumbai especially benefited from this booming of cruise ship service. The Union Shipping Ministry saw the potential in Mumbai to be the hub of cruise tourism in India. Which eventually turned out to be so.
“The target is to achieve 1,000 ship callings in the next five years and 2,000 in the next 10 years. We are looking at catering to one million cruise passengers per annum in the next five years,” said Sanjay Bhatia, chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, and Indian Ports Association.
The Part Played By Goa to Assist Mumbai
Goa is one of the most important reasons why Mumbai is flourishing as the cruise tourism capital of India. Goa is considered as the travel destination of India. People from all over the country flock to Goa to enjoy their vacation. In this regard, starting any transport service which links to Goa is a lucrative investment.
Mumbai Port Trust has done precisely this only. With Angriya being the cruise ship service starting from Mumbai and ending at Goa and then doing the same from Goa to Mumbai, has succeeded a lot. Tourists can board the ship from Mumbai, which is a large metropolitan city and can enjoy their way to Goa. Also, the fact that Mumbai itself attracts a large number of tourists is itself an economic boost for cruise services. A tourist visiting Goa can very well take out a day or two to visit Mumbai in the pleasant journey of this Mumbai to Goa cruise service.
Experts are suggesting that the soaring of cruise ship tourism in India country is going to play a much relevant part in giving employment opportunities to a large number of people looking for jobs. This will to some extent, generate revenue and cut down unemployment. The Government of India is encouraging private operators to invest in the cruise ship sector and thereby reap the benefits that would come from this emerging industry. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, the previous portfolio holder of water resource port, had remarked that each year India receives an estimated average of around 80 cruise vessels. Now the government is planning to raise this number to a staggering 950 cruise liners in the upcoming five years.
Angriya has been leading the way for cruise ship services in India. The fact that it started from Mumbai makes the city the cruise tourism capital of India. If the booking of Mumbai to Goa cruise 2020 is in your to-do travel list this year, go check out the various offers Angriya provides. Also, there are many other cruise ship services apart from Angriya. So, if you visit Mumbai, provided you are not a Mumbaikar already, do try relishing in a cruise, for once at least.
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