Weekly cruise-vessel service in Mumbai-Kochi-Lakshadweep corridor to bring cheer to tourism players

The service is scheduled to begin from Mumbai on September 14, in keeping with the onset of the tourist season in the country.

Even as most international cruise vessels have preferred to skip Indian ports for the second year in succession, due to uncertainty of the pandemic situation in the country, domestic players in the sector are banking hopes on a weekly cruise service planned in the Mumbai-Lakshadweep corridor, through the high seas with a halt in Kochi. A prominent loser due to cruise ships skipping Indian ports since mid-2020 was the port of Kochi—where over 50 such vessels brought in over 1 lakh high-end tourists annually and whose brand-new international cruise terminal commissioned earlier this year remained under-utilised. "The recent announcement by Mumbai-based Corderlia Cruises of an itinerary being readied for a weekly cruise service in the corridor has brought in cheer among stakeholders. This is expected to cater to travel-hungry people who were confined to their houses and cities following the pandemic," sources in Kerala Tourism said.