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IntroductIon… A cruise ship is a passenger used for pleasure voyages. Cruise ships are destinations in themselves With features and amenities comparable or superior to land-based resorts. Cruising is remarkably affordable and one can enjoy his/her dream vacations.

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HIstory… Cruise tourism made its small beginnings in 1839 as part of the fortnightly crossing mail service between Liverpool and Boston. The twentieth century compete for progressively larger and faster passenger ships.

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 The concept of „tourist ship passengers‟ was enhanced with value additions to the accommodations and activities. In response to the growing market demand, the ships grew in size as well as number with the result that outgrew existing port capacities.

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED... Cruising is a unique tourism product, a blend of the 5A‟s5 A’s of Cruising Attractions Activities Access Accommodation Amenities.

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Types of cruises Ocean Voyages: A one-way passage from one point to another over a major body of water. Standard Cruises: An open water cruise may be one- way or round-trip with several ports of call. River/Canal Cruises: River and canal cruises are closely linked to the culture and heritage of the country being toured. Destination / Expedition Cruises: based on the destination to be visited. Day Cruises: Day cruises are typically a cruise experience of 15 hours or less. Contemporary Cruises: These cruise lines typically have resort-style facilities with heavy emphasis on ship- board activities. Luxury Cruises: offering high style luxury with emphasis on destinations and ship-board amenities. Specialty Cruises: Adventure-style cruising with a heavy emphasis on destination, education, and off ship

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PROFILING OF CRUISE LINERS Carnival Corporation: Carnival is a global cruise company and one of the largest vacation companies in the world. Carnival Corp is the most profitable company in the leisure travel industry.

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 Royal Caribbean International: Founded by three Norwegian shipping companies in 1969 ,the second-largest cruise operator in the world.

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 Star Cruises: Star Cruises has fulfilled regional aspirations to establish the cruise industry in the Asia- Pacific region. Star Cruises has become the world‟s third largest cruise company.

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 Disney Cruises: Vessels operated under the Star Cruises. The Disney Cruise combines the magic of a Walt Disney resort vacation with the romance of a sea voyage.

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Cruise Lines ,IndiaGOA: The most common one is the Super Star Libra. It‟s complete with a restaurant, bars, and sports centre.Mumbai:Mumbai is one of India‟s foremost ports that handle a huge number of ships daily. Destinations for ships from Mumbai are Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Athens, Southampton, Barc elona, Hong Kong and a lot of other port cities.Andaman Nicobar Cruise: Regular passenger ship services are available to Port Blair from Chennai, Kolkata and Vishakapatnam,Cruise Lakshadweep: Star cruises like the Super Star Libra is famous for Mumbai to Lakshadweep trips.

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Indian Tourism SCENARIO India is strategically located en-route between Europe and South East Asia.Star Cruises and Carnival are exploring the region The Indian Government has identified cruise tourism as a thrust area and is keen to upgrade port facilities and simplify regulations in order to attract more cruise lines and encourage them to spread their wings to India to discover our rich offerings.

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GOVERNMENT INTIATIVESThe following committees have been formed: National Committee on cruise shipping constituted under Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) – to explore potential of cruise tourism and ascertain infrastructural requirements at the identified ports. National Committee under Director General of Tourism – to address marketing related issues. Port-level committees under respective chairmen with representatives of all relevant service providers- to address and resolve issues at port level, monitor requirements of cruise vessels and tourists. Standing Committee under Secretary, In-charge of Tourism of respective State Government with stakeholders – to develop and monitor requisite tourist related services at places of tourist interest.

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IMPACT OF GROWTH IN CRUISE SHIPPINGSERVICES Economic Impact: creation of jobs, new local business and rejuvenation of the local economy. Environmental Impact: The negative impact may arise due to one or more of the following:  Concern arising from increase in air pollution, damage to local fish, shellfish and water mammal populations  Concern regarding unloading and disposal of solid waste Socio-cultural impact:  creating problems associated with overcrowding and congestion.  Increasing exposure of the local communities to large amounts of tourists on a consistent basis thus creating tension among locals who feel they have lost their privacy.  Loss of ability to preserve traditional cultural behaviour.

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MarketIng…A Cruise Tourism Strategy should be designed to attain 2 key goals: Marketing Approach The approach to the market would consist of several steps:  Understand the market: This can be done through continuous collection of data, facilitation of market research and constant monitoring of industry and consumer trends.  Choose the right target audience Analysis of market demand and consumer trends will help to choose the right target audience. Once this is done, the right marketing campaign for the target audience can also be worked at.  Develop the product Cruise as a product is well established in international markets. The product would need to be revamped based on market analysis and feedback and keeping in mind the varied audience it would cater to.  Target key audiences Key audiences that need to be targeted in this segment are:-  Cruise Operators  Cruise Tourists

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SUGGESTIONS Indian ports would need to gear up for the challenge As cruise terminals represent the entry point of cruise tourists into various tourism locations and offer important opportunity to market the country‟s brand, its culture, heritage, cuisine and other offerings. Ports constitute the core infrastructure of the cruise sector. If India wishes to integrate its position in this market Indian ports would have to meet internationally accepted standards of ports infrastructure, passenger services, linkage ,other convenience and amenities.

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CONCLUSION Present-day cruise ships are organized much like “floating hotels”. There is an endless chain of entertainment activities on these ships, the range including dance classes, classical music, casino lessons and so on. Though cruises have all the features to fulfil someone‟s need but cruising is still a niche product for a particular market like India where people are not very well aware from this segment. The marketing of cruise tourism has to be undertaken as a multi-pronged effort. Campaign like “incredible India” needs to be worked out to create a brand for the cruise tourism industry in India.

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