Ministry Of Tourism News

Divers have discovered rare remains of a military vessel in the ancient sunken city of Thônis-Heracleion - once Egypt's largest port on the Mediterranean - and a funerary complex illustrating the presence of Greek merchants, the country said on Monday. The city, which controlled the entrance to Egypt at the mouth of a western branch of the Nile, dominated the area for centuries before the foundation of Alexandria nearby by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.Destroyed and sunk along with a wide area of the Nile delta by several earthquakes and tidal waves…

To explore the opportunities in Coastal Tourism, the Shipping and Tourism Ministry may soon set up a committee that will think of strategies to promote cruises and sea sports, the government of India said.The Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and  Minister of State for Tourism & Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel discussed  the immense potential for  maritime tourism in the country.In a  meeting between the two Ministers held in New Delhi yesterday, the two  ministers  emphasised  the need to promote the important tourist destinations in the coastal areas of the country through coastal tourism, said government press release."It…

Indian Ministry of Shipping, through its flagship programme Sagarmala, is closely working with Government of Gujarat state and other stakeholders to showcase India's rich maritime heritage through development of a World Class Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal in the state of Gujarat.Preliminary work on design elements of the proposed heritage complex has been completed and consultations from experts are now under process. In order to further plan and take the project forward, a one day consultation workshop was held at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya in Mumbai. The discussion was centred on the plan options, themes…

A new Cruise Terminal having facilities to handle 5000 tourists will come up at Ernakulum Wharf of Cochin Port, India by February 2020. Cochin Port Trust has issued work order to the contractor today for commencing the construction of the new Cruise Terminal.The facilities inside the Terminal, having 2253sq mtrs area, would include passenger lounge, crew lounge, 30 immigration counters, 8 customs clearance counters, 7 security check counters, Wi-Fi, tourist information counter, duty free shopping, souvenir/artefact/curio shops, medical care, book store, mini conference hall, gaming zone, ATM/bank services, foreign exchange counter, cafeteria…

The government of India announced important steps in view to boost the domestic cruise tourism industry. It is estimated that on an average a cruise tourist spends about US$200-300 and a cruise staff/officer spends about US$100-150 per port visit. Cruise tourism is a high-end luxury tourist segment of tourism sector. Cruise operations augment local economic activities as business opportunities arise for supply for provisions, transport, hotels, bunkering etc. to cruise ships which generate direct and indirect employment. The local economy also gains from the spending by cruise tourists during land excursions. (i)  All major ports offer a minimum rebate of 30% across the board to cruise ships on all vessel related charges (port dues…

In order to promote cruise tourism, the Indian government on has announced a slew of reforms to revolutionise the industry which has a high employment generation potential, by simplifying the rules and procedures for cruise port operations. "The Ministry of Shipping, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism, has announced reforms to the regulatory processes governing the cruise tourism industry in the country," an official statement said. The objective is to revolutionize this industry which has a high employment generation potential, by simplifying the rules and procedures pertaining to various aspects of cruise port operations like security, immigration, and customs.

Indian Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari  has said that Cruise Tourism is one of the fastest growing components of the leisure industry worldwide, and  can be a major growth driver for the Indian economy by generating huge employment opportunities. Gadkari was  speaking at the National Workshop on “Action Plan for Development of Cruise Tourism in India”, in New Delhi today. The workshop was also attended by Minister of State for  Culture and Tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma, and representatives of all stakeholder organizations – both from the government and the private sector – including regulatory agencies which deal with issues impacting cruise tourism.

Haifa Port in Israel is implementing a long-term plan amiing to entice cruise lines back to the "Gateway to the Holy Land" in consultation with Miami-based Access Cruise Inc., which provides sales and marketing representation to the cruise industry. Haifa Port and Access Cruise, along with the director of marketing of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in North America, met with executives from all the major North American cruise lines during the recent 2016 Seatrade Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. As a result of those meetings, Haifa Municipality and the Haifa Tourism Company board of directors have identified the cruise industry as an important target market for stimulating travel to the region.

With its vast and beautiful coastline, virgin forests and undisturbed idyllic islands, rich historical and cultural heritage, India may get some fillip in cruise tourism in the months to come. A report in Business Standard says that a high-level meeting of the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Customs, Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Tourism (MoT) will be held in the national capital to deliberate on steps to popularize cruise tourism. Also, Royal Caribbean, one of the largest cruise lines in the world, is organizing a seminar on cruise tourism. Quantum of the Seas (QOTS), the third largest cruise ship in the world, will dock at Cochin port on June 4-5, en route to Singapore and Shanghai. The seminar on QOTS in June will involve officials from several government agencies.

When Dachser, the German multinational corporation and international logistics operator, announced the opening of its newest office in Brazil at Rio de Janeiro in June, the company did so with great optimism about the future of its market. The Brazilian market is experiencing a time of significant visibility, which has been enhanced by the upcoming world sporting events to be held in the country--the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Collectively, the events have begun to lead to both investments, which may come to reach 30 billion dollars and business opportunities in different fields. The state of Rio de Janeiro, where the new Dachser branch is situated…

Royal Caribbean and Costa Cruise Lines are said to be considering reopening routes to the island nation of Bahrain In an effort to spur the tourism market, the government of Bahrain set numerous new policies to make it even more desirable to add Bahrain again as a destination, including reducing port fees. Bahrain's tourism marketing and promotion acting director, Mohammed Al Subaie, of the Ministry of Tourism states that the cruise lines are considering retuning ships to Bahrain based on the progress and stabilization made in the previous months. The cruise lines postponed service to Bahrain last year due to political unrest, but with a conscious government effort towards reconciliation, tourism has steadily increased.

Merchant marine cadets from a United Arab Emirates training ship graduated at a special ceremony held during Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2008, the largest maritime event of its kind in the region, which opened Sunday, 14 December 2008. The deck cadets were the sixth batch of students of the Birla Institute of Technology International Centre for Maritime Studies and Ship Management to pass out after training on the Ras Al Khaimah-berthed training ship Sindbad. Seatrade Middle East Maritime which ran until Tuesday 16 December is under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum…

sister vessel to Warbaby Fox, the 124-ft. catamaran passenger ferry delivered this past summer to theGovernment of Bermuda. The 350-passenger BMT Nigel Gee design low-wake catamaran is now in operation as a commuter ferry. Bermuda currently has five high speed ferries operating a year round service out of Hamilton, including the recent addition. alternative to the motor car. commuter route operating between the centrally located capital city of Hamilton and the town of St. Georges on the eastern end of the Island. This new route complements the very successful Hamilton – west end routes currently provided. of the Ministry of Tourism and Transportation, and operated under the name and logo of Sea Express. The ferry has an all aluminum hull with a resiliently mounted super structure.