MUMBAI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- India will set up three dedicated cruise training academies to address the talent shortage in the sector, the federal shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday.

Speaking at a conference in Mumbai, the minister said: "With the participation of global players, we will develop the sector and capture this growing market."

The minister also announced the setting up of a high-level advisory committee, which would include international cruise lines as members, to assist the Apex committee on Cruise Tourism to deliberate and anchor measures on boosting the cruise tourism sector.

The Indian cruise tourism market has the potential to grow 10 times over the next decade, given the rising disposable incomes, the minister said, adding that the country aims to raise cruise passenger traffic to 4 million from 0.4 million with the economic potential rising to 5.5 billion U.S. dollars from the current 110 million dollars in the years to come.

"The government of India realizes this potential and is determined to position India as a global cruise hub with the state-of-art infrastructure for both ocean and river cruises," the minister said.

The iconic sea cruise terminal coming up at BPX-Indira Dock in Mumbai is expected to be commissioned by July 2024 and will have a capacity of handling 200 ships and 1 million passengers per annum, the minister said. Enditem

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