1 day ago

India Expands Tourism Network With Ropeways, Cruises and Seaplanes

India is building more ways for tourists to travel around the country.

New ropeways are planned for mountain and pilgrimage destinations.

A ropeway to Kedarnath could make a journey that takes 8–9 hours last about 36 minutes.

Another planned ropeway could shorten trips to Hemkund Sahib.

River tourism is also growing, with more boats and cruise routes on India’s waterways.

The country plans to add 51 river cruise circuits by 2047.

Seaplanes may connect islands and coastal areas through more than 28 water aerodromes.

These projects are intended to make important tourist places easier to reach.

Key facts

Ropeway investment: Planned Parvatmala ropeway projects represent an estimated Rs 1.25 lakh crore investment.
Kedarnath project: The proposed 12.9-km ropeway could reduce travel from Sonprayag to Kedarnath to about 36 minutes.
Hemkund Sahib project: The proposed 12.4-km ropeway could reduce the round trip from about three days to nearly three hours.
River passenger traffic: Inland waterway passenger traffic increased from 1.61 crore in FY2024 to 7.6 crore in FY2025.
River cruise vessels: The number of river cruise vessels rose from three in FY2014 to 25 in FY2025.
Cruise expansion plan: The Inland Waterways Authority of India plans 51 new river cruise circuits across 47 waterways by 2047.
Water aerodromes: More than 28 water aerodromes have been awarded or identified under UDAN-3 and later rounds.

businesstoday.in · 1 day ago