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River cruise operator Antara Cruises plans to launch cruises on three new routes in the next five years, including the backwaters of Kerala, the Jhelum River in Kashmir, and Goa, according to Raj Singh, Founder and Chairman of Antara Cruises – Heritage River Journeys.
“The new route we are thinking of is Goa. We are also planning on the backwaters of Kerala, where we are thinking of 5-6 night cruises from the north to south of Kerala. The other one, which we have in mind is Kashmir, the Jhelum river cruises on the Jhelum river for a few nights. So, these are some of the new areas where we are concentrating and targeting,” Singh told PTI over a telephone conversation.
At present, Antara Cruise has a fleet, including the MV Ganges Voyager, MV Ganges Voyager II, MV Ganga Vilas, MV Bengal Ganga, MV Nauka Vilas and 4 catamarans.
The company offers luxury cruise experiences in various rivers in India, including the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and rivers of Bhitarkanika National Park.
These cruises connect travellers to historic cities such as Varanasi, Kolkata, Odisha, Dibrugarh, and Guwahati, among others.
Of these fleets, the MV Ganga Vilas covers approximately 3,200 km from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, touching 27 river systems and 50 major tourist destinations.
When asked about the challenges the company faces before launching a cruise on a route, Singh said that one of the major challenges is understanding the river.
“When we say we understand the river, it means the quantity of water, that is if the level of water is enough and suitable to make the ships sail. Also, how wide the river is, the size of the ship, everything depends on the availability of water,” he added.
Another challenge, Singh said, is to convince local people about the benefits the cruise will bring.
He further stated that the company has no plans to expand operations beyond India and Bangladesh, even in other countries with similar topography.
“No, at present, we don’t have any plans to operate outside India as we have about 110 National Waterways. So, there is ample scope to grow within India,” Singh added.
Singh said that each ship employs about 300 to 400 people. However, indirectly, the company is expected to create over 20,000 jobs with its existing as well as fleets in the pipeline.
The indirect jobs are huge because, each place where we go, we use local services, including transport, guides and many other things,” he added.
