India Plans to Triple River Cruise Passengers in Coming Years

The Indian government aims to increase river‑cruise passengers from the current level to 1.5 million, seeking to triple the market over the next few years. In the 2024‑25 season, river‑cruise journeys rose by almost 20 % to 443 trips, reflecting growing demand.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways highlights that India possesses about 20,000 km of navigable waterways. Feasibility studies are under way for more than 50 routes across 47 waterways, with a focus on the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Kerala’s Alappuzha network. The Ganges‑Brahmaputra corridor, which also touches Bangladesh, is being developed with new terminals, dredging and heritage‑site promotion.

Notable projects include the MV Ganga Vilas, billed as the world’s longest river cruise, which covered 3,200 km from Varanasi to Dibrugarh. The number of vessels operating on the Brahmaputra has risen from three a decade ago to 25, aided by infrastructure upgrades. International operators such as Viking Cruises have also entered the Indian river‑cruise market.