Kochi, a hub of water sports in the making
by Juhan Samuel
Kochi:
With sprawling water bodies, Kochi has become a popular
boating and yachting hub for tourists from India and abroad.
After the shocking terror attacks in Mumbai, investors
and sailors are turning their attention towards southern
India. A perfect harbour, appropriate climate and breathtaking
views from the start till the end of the journey followed
by a series of cultural events round the year are some
of the attractions a sailor looks for. "I think there
will be a great future within the next years because there's
a great landscape, there's a great climate and it is located
between the Arabian Sea and the Asian area. It has great
opportunity about backwaters," said Peter Janson, German-based
architect and consultant in Marina Development. Till recently,
the main location for leisure boating in the country was
Mumbai. But the recent terror attacks have made the investors
and sailors add the tiny city of Kochi to their list.
For the first time in the India's history of events, Volvo
Ocean Race hit the Kochi port that made a mark and turning
point in the maritime map of yachting.
Another
indicator of an emerging boating market is the success
of India International Boat Show being held since last
five years. Besides, the first annual general meeting
of the India Marine Federation held in 2008 also shows
an encouraging sign. "In Kerala, the main thing is that
30 per cent of the Kerala population is from outside Kerala
and majority is from abroad. Even if they are NRIs, they
have their rich community. They are enjoying the maximum
luxury items in Kerala. In future, the next stream here
will be into yachting. Yachting is totally different field
so we need to guide them, attract them and need to have
presentations in front of them," said Sohar Roy, CEO,
Aries Group, Dubai, UAE. Experts in this field discourse
that countries like Singapore, Thailand and Arabian Gulf
are very good examples to learn where leisure boating
and marinas stimulated massive economic growth. For the
real investors in the leisure tourism sector there is
a huge opportunity, building marinas, hotels, apartments,
yacht repairing and boat building units are some of the
few industries. People in this industry believe that there
will be investments above USD 300 millions in the coming
years. But with the prevailing global meltdown and financial
crisis, it is a bit difficult to assume how many of the
investors or the tourists will come to India.
-Jan
20, 2009
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