Get ready to enjoy a cruise along India's coastline

India, with its 7,000 km long coastline, is all set to introduce cruises along them within a year, an official said.

"Within a year, cruises will operate along the coast of India to match those of Royal Caribbean," said R.H. Kwaja, secretary, tourism ministry, at a conference here.

"India already has many riverboat cruises. But we are seeing great potential along the 7,000 km plus coast line of India. Very soon we will see the first seaborne cruise along the coast of India," Kwaja added.

The coastline of India is dotted with several historic spots and major ports.

Official figures show that India has 650 million internal visitors and six million international visitors.

Kwaja along with Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed and Devesh Chaturvedi, additional director general of India Tourism, are spearheading a series of road shows organised by the Indian chapter of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in Britain and Ireland, a statement said.

The focus of the roadshows is to make India a round the year destination, with visit to the historic cities like Delhi and Agra in winter, in addition to Kashmir in the spring.

The road shows were organised as a prelude to the forthcoming World Travel Market at Excel in London. - IANS