By 2027, the government intends to build 51 new river cruise circuits on 47 national waterways in 14 states and three union territories (UTs), the administration announced Monday.

According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, the government wants to boost river cruise passengers from 0.5 million to 1.5 million with the start of the Cruise Bharat Mission.

Over the next two years, the mission aims to improve cruise terminals, ports, and associated infrastructure, encourage environmentally responsible travel by utilizing green ships, and generate a large number of job opportunities in the cruise sector.

With the number of river cruise trips on National Waterways rising from 371 in 2023–2024 to 443 in 2024–2025, the river cruise tourist industry in India has experienced significant expansion.

This 19.4% increase highlights how popular and effective river excursions are becoming in India’s inland waterways.

Adding to this momentum, Viking Cruises has shown increased interest and investment in India’s river cruise tourist industry by announcing its entry into the Indian river cruise market with the 80-guest Viking Brahmaputra, which is expected to start operations in late 2027.

The Viking Brahmaputra will run on National Waterway-2 and will be built locally by Kolkata’s Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Limited.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is making progress in advancing river cruise tourism and creating a sustainable water transportation system in India under the direction of Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, and in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

Over the past 11 years, the sector has experienced extraordinary growth. River cruise operations have grown from five vessels on three waterways in 2013–14 to 25 vessels on 13 national waterways in 2024–25.

To promote cruise tourism on National Waterways, IWAI recently inked agreements with a number of state governments. These include collaborations with the governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh for cruise tourism on the Narmada River, Delhi for ferry and cruise operations on the Yamuna River, and Jammu and Kashmir for sustainable tourism on the Jhelum, Ravi, and Chenab rivers.

In addition, IWAI is building three cruise ports in Varanasi, Guwahati, Kolkata, and Patna, as well as other dedicated cruise terminals on the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers.

By 2027, it is planned to build four additional cruise terminals in the northeast: Silghat, Biswanath Ghat, Neamati, and Guijan.