The first-of-its-kind scuba diving live-aboard product in India, Infiniti by Karina Tourism & Adventures, a Mumbai based company, is set to attract the worldwide diving fraternity to the Andaman Islands, thus putting the destination on the global diving map, revealed Sunil Bakshi, Co-Founder & Director, Karina Tourism & Adventures. According to him, the Andaman Islands are a unique destination for divers, surfers and general explorers. They have a lot to offer to Indians as well as foreigners, and much of it has been unexplored, he stated. The 130 feet long Infiniti will commence operations with five-day trips to diving sites in the Andaman Islands waters.
“I want to put the Andaman Islands on the world’s scuba diving map and make it a hot new diving frontier for the world – with special attractions such as volcanic diving, it has the potential to be as sensational as the Galapagos Islands or Belize. However, there has never been a proper live-aboard to access the many wonders of this area,” he added.
Bakshi believes that, in India too, scuba diving is taking off in a big way and there are dive clubs nearly everywhere in the country. Furthermore, Infiniti will do PADI certifications on board, allowing for even non-diver who would like to learn or are interested in a yachting type of holiday to come aboard. “We have other activities onboard too such as surfing, kayaking, barbecue under the stars, spa on board, island excursions, bird watching and so on,” he said.
Speaking about their welcome in the Indian market, Bakshi stated that Infiniti has received healthy response from cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi, among others. Highlighting their plan to attract footfall, he added that Infiniti will primarily follow a B2B sales strategy and create a PSA network where partners in India and abroad will play very important roles.
“In addition to alliances with specialised dive clubs and select travel agencies/ tour operators, we will use digital marketing and targeted, niche advertising. Worldwide, liveaboard marketing is very well organised and sophisticated. In India, the challenge is to create familiarity with the concept,” he opined.
Infiniti’s schedule from September to December expects Indians to come for PADI courses and general excursions or charters. From January to May, they expect an international clientele to come for some advanced diving at remote locations such as Barren Island and Narcondam Island. The marketing strategies are, therefore, being formulated to attract both inbound and domestic tourists, Bakshi revealed.
