Cruise terminals set up at 5 major ports to promote tourism
09 Aug 2018
Five major ports in the country, namely, Chennai (Tamilnadu), Mormugao (Goa), New Mangalore (Karnataka), Cochin (Kerala) and Mumbai (Maharashtra) have been developed to attract cruise ships with dedicated cruise terminals and other related infrastructure for berthing of cruise vessels and embarking and disembarking of cruise passengers.
Minister of state for shipping and finance Pon Radhakrishnan stated this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
There are 12 major ports and 200 non-major ports in the country, the minister added.
Besides, to attract tourists in a big way, the government has extends e-visa facility for citizens of 165 countries. The e-visa facility is available at 25 airports and five seaports, tourism minister K J Alphons informed the Lok Sabha.
He said the government has launched the ‘Incredible India 2.0’ campaign, marking a shift from generic promotions to market-specific promotional plans. A 24X7 toll free multi-lingual tourist helpline has also been put in place as part of the efforts.
To promote tourism in India, events such as ‘paryatan parv’ (tourism festival), International Buddhist Conclave and International Tourism Mart too have been organised. He said while development and promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of state government, the union tourism ministry provides central financial assistance to states and UTs to organise fairs, festivals and tourism-related events for the promotion of tourism, he said.