Kolkata Port Trust invites offers from global cruise operators

Kolkata: The Kolkata Port Trust has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from reputed cruise operators from all over the world to promote cruise tourism in the river Hooghly as also along the east coast covering Orissa and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The last date for filing application for EoI is October 31.

The port trust has identified several circuits for this purpose. First, the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system for river cruise. On both banks of the river system there are many places of historical, architectural, cultural and religious importance.

An enterprising and innovative cruise operator, therefore, can exploit the potential of river cruise along the system by introducing suitable tour packages for these places, it is felt.

It might be noted that Vivada, a local river transport company, has already launched river cruise in the Hooghly River on a limited scale but has plans for something much bigger, also covering Sunderbans and the delta region in the Bay of Bengal.

Second, the port trust has identified two circuits for coastal tourism - Kolkata-Saugor Island-Puri and Kolkata-Saugor Island-Puri-Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Puri, the coastal town of Orissa, attracts a large number of tourists every day, largely for religious reasons and partly for the attraction of the sea. The attraction of Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands as a tourist destination too is on the rise but the present level of shipping services between Kolkata and Port Blair leaves much to be desired.

Dr A.K. Chanda, Chairman of the Kolkata Port Trust, who also heads a state-level tourism promotion committee that also includes representatives from the Orissa Government and A&N Administration, told Business Line that the relevant issues had already been discussed at the committee level.

'This was needed because suitable jetties might have to be constructed at Puri as well as the A&N Islands, to facilitate calling of the cruise vessels,' he said.

Mr Chanda said, the Kolkata port would provide the land for the development of the terminals for river cruise and a modern terminal inside the impounded dock system for coastal cruise.

'We might consider giving other facilities depending on the requirements of the cruise operators,' he said adding, 'we've already given riverfront land to Vivada for setting up a terminal'.