Cruise Tourism Comes To Vizag: First Ship To Reach City On 2 July From Chennai

The Andhra Pradesh state tourism department and Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) are keen on developing the city as a cruise destination.

A year after Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Visakhapatnam International Cruise Terminal (VICT), which was built at a cost of Rs 100 crore, a ship belonging to Cordelia Cruises is set to arrive in Visakhapatnam from Chennai on 2 July. The company plans to connect the two cities via Puducherry.

As per a report by The Times Of India, this terminal is the first cruise terminal on the East Coast, covering the area from Andhra Pradesh to West Bengal.

The Tours and Travels Association of Andhra President, Kanneganti Vijay Mohan, told TOI that "regular cruise services to destinations like Colombo, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore would boost inbound tourism in the region."

According to travel agents cited by the report, attracting large cruise lines requires close coordination between the port, private players and the government due to challenges such as relocation of ships every few months and processes to follow.

Industry participants continue to have hope for cruise tourism's future in Andhra despite obstacles. They think that by working together, the area might draw large cruise lines and become a more popular travel destination.

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