Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in association Costa Cruises inaugurated the Special launch of The Costa NeoClassica from Mumbai to Maldives via Cochin by Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra and Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Costa Cruises in the presence of Valsa Nair-Singh, Principal Secretary GAD /Excise, Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC, Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC and Sanjay Sethi, Mumbai Port Trust.
The sailing will start in the month of November 2017. The opportunity will bring in new prospects and motivate to develop the cruise port which will create opportunities for international cruise liners and improve Cruise Tourism in India.
Rawal said, “It is our honour and privilege to associate with Costa Cruises. The demand for cruises is set to grow and the domestic cruise passengers are estimated to grow to 1.5 million by 2031-32. Cruise Tourism is becoming an increasingly popular ‘leisure choice’ worldwide and the same goes in India. More and more people are embracing leisure lifestyles and it is reflecting in their travel and vacation habits. This initiative will surely attract tourists from all across the world and will establish Maharashtra in the global map.”
Waghmare said, “It is significant for MTDC to cater new offerings in the tourism sector. The Costa NeoClassica will create Mumbai as a homeport. The Government has also introduced a yearlong carnival with other sectors such as wellness, adventure and cruise. A dual task force for cruise tourism has also been designed for having standard working procedures to ensure proper training and generate employment opportunities in the sector.”
