The passenger cruise season at the New Mangalore Port concluded with the arrival of ‘Riviera’, the ninth cruise vessel bearing the Marshall Islands flag, on Tuesday. The season’s performance, compared to the pre-pandemic period, was underwhelming.
The cruise sector, which had been hopeful for a positive rebound following the pandemic, is now facing a potential setback due to the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea.
The vessel Riviera arrived carrying 1,141 passengers and 752 crew members.
Of the total number of passengers, 662 were from the United States, 104 from Australia, 137 from Canada, 103 from the UK, 26 from New Zealand, and the rest from different countries. This ship arrived with the highest number of passengers after the pandemic. Meanwhile, this season, about 5,300 passengers have visited Mangaluru, with most of them coming from the USA and the UK, followed by Canada and Australia. The vessels that arrived were also smaller compared to those in the past. For the next season, so far, about 10 ships have registered and are expected to arrive. The cruise season generally begins in
November and goes on until May.
An official from a reputed agency that handles vessels at the Mangalore Port said that the industry has not completely recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic, and the crisis at the Red Sea has resulted in the cancellation of a big vessel. This vessel was expected to arrive at Mangaluru as the first port of call, followed by Goa and Mumbai, with over 2,000 passengers.
Also, two prominent cruise liners did not call at the port this season.
An NMPA official said the pandemic has hit cruise tourism badly, due to the global lockdown and lack of bookings, which led to the shutdown of a few businesses. Before the pandemic, an average of 25 ships with 27,000 passengers used to arrive in Mangaluru. “Last season, eight vessels had arrived with 3,600 passengers. Even the number of ships calling at Mumbai and Kochi ports has reduced, compared to the pre-pandemic days. The cruise companies start their bookings a year before the trip.
Although there was an expectation for the cruise tourism sector to recuperate, the recovery seems to be on a slow path,” the official said.
