On Wednesday, the domestic cruise ship, Cordelia Empress, made its last call of the season at the cruise berth of the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA), bringing Goa’s cruise tourism season to a close. The ship, which shuttles between Goa and Mumbai, had 1,850 passengers on board.
Speaking to reporters, Manager (Operations) of the JM Baxi Shipping Agency, Govind Pernulkar, said that the cruise vessel had received a very good response from passengers across India, bringing almost half lakh passengers to Goa this tourist season.
Pernulkar shared, “The ship brought in around 1,850 passengers to Goa on its last call. While 1,000 passengers got off the ship, the remaining are on board. We handled around 42,000 passengers in Goa during the season, which has helped boost the state economy, and many other businesses such as taxi operators and others associated with tourism. The ship made around 26 calls to Goa this season and will leave for Lakshadweep islands and then return to Mumbai.”
Pernulkar added that all MPA departments and authorities, such as customs, immigration and even the police had helped to make cruise tourism a success.
“The monsoon season is coming and the ship is likely to stop operating in the West Coast, and will operate along the eastern coast between Vishakapatnam, Chennai and Puducherry,” he said.
“Plans to sail on the east coast have not been finalized yet as they are in talks with the authorities of the shipping ministry. Operations along the east coast may commence from June,” said Pernulkar.