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First-ever cruise from Tamil Nadu: Cordelia to bring in more Indian tourists 

12 Mar 2022

By Uwin Lugoda Sri Lanka Tourism will be welcoming its first-ever cruise from Tamil Nadu, with the aim of increasing tourist arrivals from India, The Sunday Morning learns. The launch of the service from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka was recently announced by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando. During the announcement, she stated that Cordelia Cruises from India would be the first-ever cruising experience from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka. According to the Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi, plans for the cruise from Sri Lanka’s end are still in the early stages.  However, he explained that the main goal of this cruise would be to bring in more Indian tourists to Sri Lanka. “Right now we do not have all the info, but I got a letter from the company requesting permission for a cruise to come from India to Sri Lanka. As per the letter, the cruise will come into our country thrice a month and will dock in several cities between Kankesanturai and Colombo,” said Hettiarachchi. However, Hettiarachchi pointed out that, unlike other anchorage points, the one in Kankesanturai was yet to be opened for the purposes of sailing. He stated that in the coming week the Minister of Tourism and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) officials would visit Kankesanturai to see if it could be opened post clearance from the Ministry of Defence (MOD). He stated that the Ministry was also working with stakeholders to smoothen out the procedure behind the cruise entering Sri Lanka. As such, he explained that immigration would look at issuing 24-hour visas for cruise guests to move around inside the cities they dock in, which is a common practice in all countries with regard to cruises. The cruise liner company for Cordelia Cruises, Waterways Leisure Tourism (Pvt) Ltd., told Indian media of its plans to add Chennai as a sailing location by May this year. From Chennai, they stated that travellers would be given an option to cruise along the coast of Sri Lanka, covering Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee, and Jaffna. According to company data, since its inception in September 2021, Cordelia has catered to upwards of 45,000 passengers. Moreover, the cruise liner also plans on catering to weddings, private events and family vacations, with it being mandatory for all guests to carry a double vaccination certificate and a negative PCR report.  The SLTDA stated that the report would be scanned on arrival and all Covid protocols would be strictly adhered to onboard.  


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