Drishti Marine's ferry service - Opening new horizons for Goa

Historically, water has played a much bigger role in transportation than roads in Goa. It's only in the last few decades that the state government has given a huge push to road infrastructure as a result of which people have preferred roads to water as means of transport.
Goa's abundant water resources are lying underutilised. Due to this, even tourists have not been able to explore Goa and have no idea about the State's beautiful inland waterways. It's in this context that Drishti Marine's upcoming ferry service has to be viewed.
Rajiv Somani, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Drishti Marine has informed that he is expecting to start a ferry service between Dabolim Airport and Sinquerim by November 20.
Somani further informed that Dabolim Airport to Sinquerim will be the inaugural route of the first phase of Drishti Marine's ferry service. He explained, "We are investing Rs 40 crore in the first phase in which we plan to connect several places in Goa through ferries from Dabolim Airport, Sinquerim, Panaji, Old Goa, Baga, Arambol, Mobor and Palolem."
The airport to Sinquerim stretch is part of a larger route -- Baina-Sinquerim-Panaji-Old Goa. Between Dabolim Airport and Airport Ferry Terminal (AFT) at Baina, Drishti Marine will provide a free of cost shuttle service to the passengers. The whole network will be consist of jetties and ferries. Buses and taxis will be used for last-mile connectivity.
Somani continued, "The route from Dabolim Airport to Sinquerim is extremely crucial for us because a large number of tourists after landing in Goa head to the North coast, mainly Baga to Sinquerim beach belt. For this stretch, we are going to charge Rs 750 per passenger, which we think is very affordable."
He also said, "We are looking at 22 jetties to cater to the service. Of these, 11 are currently existing. The plan is to create further 11 floating jetties."Among the existing jetties are Captain of Ports jetty in Panaji, Old Goa jetty and Chapora jetty."
The tourism stakeholders think that such a network of ferries and jetties will significantly improve Goa as a tourism destination. Atish Fernandes, director, business development, First Class Holidays, said, "This ferry service is a great move for Goa. By keeping the fare at Rs 750 per passenger, it has been ensured that only middle-income to high-income tourists will be able to afford it. This will help us in dealing with burgeoning number of mass tourists, who dirty the place and bring bad name to Goa as a destination."
Fernandes continued, "Through the ferry service, hinterland parts of Goa can be explored as well, which will be great from tourism viewpoint."
Jack Sukhija, member, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), said, "In Kerala, there is a place where certain resorts are accessible only by boats. Such things can happen in Goa, if we develop water as a mode of transportation. The upcoming ferry service and a network of floating jetties will be good for Goa particularly because our roads are getting jammed with vehicles."
Drishti Marine has plans to expand its ferry service routes. Somani said, "Our phase 1 will have three routes. The first one is from the Airport to Old Goa, which we are expecting to start by November 20. The other two routes are Baga to Arambol in the North and Mobor to Palolem in the South. We expect to launch these two routes by middle of January 2018."
Overall, the first phase involves investment of Rs 40 crore. Somani said that all places such as Baina, Sinquerim, Panaji, Old Goa, Baga, Arambol, Mobor and Palolem will be developed as hubs. This means that these will be the central points.
Then, spokes will be developed in phase two of the project, which will connect other smaller destinations to the centrally located hubs. The
second phase will involve an investment of Rs 20 crore.
Somani also mentioned that per passenger fare will be a lot lesser on smaller routes involving spokes. At the moment, Drishti Marine will charge Rs 850 per passenger from Baina to Old Goa, which is a lot lesser than what taxi-operators charge. The fare from Sinquerim to Panaji has been kept at only Rs 150 per passenger.
It is clear that Drishti Marine has done its homework, as its business-model appears to be sound. Savio Messias, president, TTAG, said, "There are very few airports in India, which are so close to the sea or a river like Dabolim Airport is in Goa. Given this, Drishti Marine's ferry service is a great idea because it will allow tourists to see Goa along its coastline while enjoying a boat ride."
Talking about jetties, Messias said, "There are so many old jetties in Goa, which were developed by the Portuguese, and are lying unutilised. We have been urging the government to develop these jetties, for example the ones in Divar, Aldona and Cumbharjua. Some dredging will be required in these places."
The only challenge Drishti Marine will face will be in terms of providing last-mile connectivity to the passengers. Somani said, "We will do a link-up with taxi operators for this purpose. For example, once a tourist reaches Sinquerim from ferry, he or she will be able to take a taxi to reach the hotel."
At some places, there is already a bus service, which will provide the last-mile connectivity. For example, between Panaji and Old Goa, there is the Hop-on-Hop-off bus service.
Drishti Marine's ferry service is a unique concept in India. Naturally then, the stakeholders are excited to see how it takes off in the state.

A new way of experiencing Goa
Drishti Marine's ferry service will give a chance to tourists landing at Dabolim Airport to reach several parts of Goa by using inland waterways
The first route: AFT at Baina-Sinquerim-Panaji-Old Goa is expected to be launched by November 20
The ferry service is targeted mostly at tourists because Airport to Sinquerim is the mainstay of its operation
By Jan mid-2018, Drishti Marine also expects to connect Baga to Arambol and Mobor to Palolem via a ferry service
The second phase will involve creating more routes on the basis of
hub-and-spoke-model
What does tourism industry have to say about Drishti's ferry service
Tourism Industry in Goa thinks that Drishti Marine's ferry service is a great concept, as it will allow tourists to have a unique experience
TTAG President, Messias, said that the ferry service is a great idea because it will allow tourists to see Goa along its coastline while enjoying a boat ride
Stakeholders also maintain that ferries will attract middle-income to high-income tourists, which is good for Goa as a destination
Tourism industry is positive that the ferry service through a network of jetties will help in development of hinterland tourism as well