The India-IORA Cruise Tourism Conference took place in New Delhi, India, from 13-14 June 2024.  The Republic of India Ministry of External Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) co-hosted the event with 10 Member States in attendance: Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.  The conference was partially funded through the IORA Special Fund and was an Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum activity. 

Panel discussions focused on identifying business opportunities, improving the business environment by facilitating dialogue between business and government stakeholders including infrastructure, regulation, and innovation, promoting inclusion of women, and sustainability in the sector.  Participants exchanged perspectives on best practices and cross-fertilized ideas to enhance the sector in the IORA region.

The conference included the launch of the FICCI commissioned knowledge paper titled “Sailing to New Horizons” which explores Cruise Tourism in the Indian Ocean region.