Louis Cruises to launch service from Kochi
Mr. Puthran, who was here on Tuesday, told during the last 10 years, about 10 million people in the country had gone cruising and the nearest destination they went to was Singapore. The demand was always on the rise. In India, “we sail from October to Mid-May since the monsoon will intensify after that,” he said. The Mediterranean-based Louis Cruises would operate short-duration cruises from Kochi. The company had decided to base the ship, MV Aquamarine, in the Kochi port as Kerala was known world-wide as a tourist destination. It received the maximum number of tourists in the country. Maldives and Colombo were easily accessible from the Kochi Port and the Indian Ocean did not have a cruise service, he said.
Hence, the company had entered into a five-year agreement with Kerala Tourism and appointed The Great India Tour Company as its passenger sales agent to promote its cruises. The ship would reach Kochi by December 1. Currently, the company offered three itineraries: Kochi-Maldives-Kochi, Kochi-Colombo-Kochi and one night cruise on the high seas. The demand was high for one-night cruises, especially in the weekends. The company targeted family travellers and corporate companies.
The company had launched bookings in Coimbatore too, he said.
