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‘U.P. has potential to emerge as key player in river cruise tourism’
The U.P. government is planning to invest over ₹30,000 crore in vessel construction and infrastructure development till 2047.
LUCKNOW River cruise tourism is going to take shape in a big way in the country and Uttar Pradesh can emerge as a key player in this sector, said officials at the Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) on Friday. They also laid emphasis on encouraging tourism by promoting ‘untapped historical places’.
“India has set notable targets for river cruise tourism. We aim to ensure that the cruise tourism traffic with night stays goes up from 5,000 in 2022 to 1,20,000 in 2047. Also, the number of permanent, floating, and landing terminals (cargo and passengers) shall go up from the present 94 to 400 in 2047 while local cruise tourism traffic (without night stay) shall go up from the existing 15 lakh to 75 lakh,” said G Asok Kumar, director general, Namami Gange, while discussing the scope of U.P. river tourism.
The officer added, “The Ganga Aarti, which is popular among tourists, takes place at 100 Ganga ghats at present. There is immense potential to promote local cuisine and culture by drawing people towards this spiritual practice. Even Ganga tributaries can also be developed on these lines.” Citing the example of Ganga Vilas cruise, Kumar said, “The cruise, which goes from Varanasi to Assam, is fully booked for one year. The response is encouraging. In fact, small ships making shorter detours are also receiving a good response.”
Kumar pointed out that the government is planning to invest over ₹30,000 crore in vessel construction and infrastructure development till 2047. Of this, ₹19,056 crore would be cruise-related investment, ₹3,573 crore is to be spent on hospitality, and ₹10,000 crore on inland transportation. The annual revenue generated from the river cruise industry is pegged at ₹25,012 crore, the officer said.
Meanwhile, speaking on the ‘immense possibilities’ in heritage (historical) tourism, V Vidyavathi, director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India, said, “The historical significance of only a few cities is known to people. Therefore, it is our endeavour to connect more cities to the tourist map of historical places. The trend of backpacking is yet to start in India but Uttar Pradesh can take a lead in this by attracting youths towards historical tourism.”
In the backdrop of the GIS event, U.P. tourism has received MoUs/investment proposals worth ₹1.17 lakh crore against a target of ₹10,000 set by the state government. Investment proposals have been received for various projects -- including theme parks, Yoga and wellness centres, river cruise, and eco-tourism. Of the total MoUs, over 50% are related to accommodation projects. Uttar Pradesh tourism minister Jaiveer Singh and Union tourism minister G Krishan Reddy also addressed the GIS session on Friday.
