Rising domestic demand forces Antara cruises to launch 2 & 3 night cruises from this season, ET TravelWorld

<p>Raj Singh, Founder & Chairman, Antara Cruises - Heritage River Journeys.</p> — Raj Singh, Founder & Chairman, Antara Cruises – Heritage River Journeys.

Although river cruising is quite new and in its nascency in India, the interest, especially from the domestic market, is making operators make tailor-made itineraries to suit the market demand. Antara Luxury River Cruises, one of the pioneers in river cruising in India and the largest in terms of the number of ships, will be launching short duration cruises of 2 and 3 nights from this season in the Ganges.

Talking to ETTravelWorld, Raj Singh, Founder & CEO, Antara Luxury River Cruises, who initiated the longest luxury river cruise of 51 days covering India and Bangladesh last year, said that they will be deploying a 20 all-suites ship, Bengal Ganga, in Varanasi in this season, starting October, to operate 2 and 3-night cruises to Prayagraj and Patna.

“We have been receiving pretty good bookings for these trips,” he said. The ship will be equipped with a spa; a fully vegetarian restaurant and the package will be inclusive of all excursions, said Singh.

The company operates 7 nights, 18 nights and 51 nights cruises in National Waterways 1 (Ganges); National Waterways 2 (Brahmaputra); National Waterways 5 (Brahmani river system in Odisha); and Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route (Kolkata to Dhubri).

With 9 cruise ships including modern catamarans, Antara Luxury River Cruises is the largest river cruise operator in the country.

“Last season was very good for us and this season also looks to be better than the last season. We work two seasons in advance. Interestingly, the domestic market demand is growing year on year,” he said.

Launched last year, the river cruises in Odisha have also picked up well, said Singh. The 2 and 3 night cruises onboard two- bedroom Catamaran ships operate on fixed departure basis and proved to be ideal for domestic tourists, he said. “It was something new and different and received well by people who wanted to combine cruises with wildlife in Bhitarkanika,” he added.

He said that they have also started getting demand for tours by special interest groups like musical tours from last year. From one tour last season, they have three such departures this year for such specialised groups.

UP to launch water excursions with Catamaran boats in Ayodhya, Kashi & Mathura

The state has formalised plans to enhance its water tourism offerings through an agreement with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which will supply six catamaran boats. These boats are expected to elevate the tourist experience by offering scenic river excursions in some of Uttar Pradesh’s most revered cities. As part of this initiative, two catamarans will be stationed in each of the three cities.

Meanwhile, the political changes in Bangladesh have raised concerns about the fate of the upcoming season’s sailing of Ganga Vilas. The sailing has to start from February, 2025 and the sailings are already sold out with a major share of passengers being international cruisers. As per the 51-day itinerary of the ship, 14 days are spent in Bangladesh. Singh said that the operations will depend on political clearances from both governments. Talking about the opportunities and challenges in river cruise tourism in the country, Singh said that while opportunities are in abundance, the basic infrastructure is still lacking in most of the places. He said that if state governments and Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) focus on developing these infrastructure like proper boarding and deboarding facilities at key destinations, shore power connections, and facilities for garbage collection, the operations will become less cumbersome.

Singh said that states are recognising the potential of river cruising more and more now than ever before, and he had consultations with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh in this connection in recent months. “The perception of the states towards river cruising is changing and the concept is here to stay now,” he said.

“As pioneers in river cruising, we have our vested interest in this. That is to save our rivers. If we are able to maintain a certain level of flow of water in our rivers, our rivers can be saved. Most of our rivers are dying. River cruising requires a certain minimum level of flow and by maintaining it, our rivers can be saved from destruction and death,” he said.