The Hindu : War, SARS bring in more liners to Kochi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 07, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

War, SARS bring in more liners to Kochi

By Anand Haridas

KOCHI APRIL 6. The ongoing war against Iraq and the threat of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have been setting an interesting trend in the pattern and number of cruise vessels touching Kochi port.

The itinerary of all cruise liners is finalised at least a couple of years ahead and the apprehension is that recent developments might force cancellations half way through.

While the war in Afghanistan and the ongoing one in Iraq did prompt many tourists to change their itinerary, the outbreak of SARS is proving beneficial to the Cochin Port Trust (CPT). Till now, two vessels have dropped their plans to stop in Singapore and expressed their desire to berth at Kochi instead.

Seaborn Spirit, a vessel from Bahamas berthed at the port on Sunday. This will be followed by Star Flair from Luxembourg on April 7, Maxim Gorky on April 13, Nippon Maru and Regal Prince on April 17. Seaborn Spirit, a vessel measuring 438 feet with 264 passengers and 163 crew, was one of the unexpected visitors to the port, Regal Prince being the other one. Seaborn Spirit berthed at 6 a.m. and left the port at 6 p.m.

So far, Kochi has been highlighted as a safe port and features in almost all itineraries of vessels passing through these seas. As one of the officials at the CPT said, the hospitality of this port is famous enough to secure it a place in the international tour map.

The number of vessels visiting Kochi had been on the decline for the last couple of years. While 36 vessels berthed here two years back, during the following year the number dwindled to 22 and during the last financial year it dipped further to 11 vessels.

But the tourism season, so far as CPT is concerned, is far from over. ``We will handle six vessels this month itself,'' said Jacob Thomas, chairman, CPT. The cruise sector was the least affected among the various international tourism market sectors. ``And among ports in India, we have recorded the highest visits during last year,'' Dr. Thomas added.

So far the Kochi port had not made any cancellations and this was a very positive trend, K.C. Kuncharia, Additional Traffic Manager, CPT, said.

The war situation in Afghanistan seriously affected vessel movement in these parts, as it happened during the peak tourism season, between September and March. Tourists from the United States and Europe were opting for the Caribbean Islands, instead of exotic Asia.

Even so, the officials pin hopes on odd vessels coming in once the final batch of vessels leave the port and the lean tourism season sets in. Meanwhile, the CPT has taken all precautions to check the deadly infection SARS from entering the mainland through Kochi. All vessels from South-East Asia, including cargo vessels are being scanned thoroughly.

Also, the CPT, as a policy decision, will soon decide against allowing visits to the ships berthing at the port. Even before the outbreak of SARS, the decision was in the offing due to security reasons, said one of the port officials.

On their part, the tourism officials are in an upbeat mood, as there are signs of tourist movement even though the season had already entered a lean patch now. ``All we can expect during this phase, otherwise, is groups of back-packers who are not going to benefit the industry financially. But it is this group that is not affected by international politics,'' K.H. Mahaboob, assistant manager, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), said.

Agencies like KTDC, however, would not have much stake in high-end tourism movement in the form of incoming cruise liners.

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