Waterways Leisure Tourism IPO

About Waterways Leisure Tourism IPO

The public issue of the Waterways Leisure Tourism IPO, a mainboard IPO to be listed on NSE and BSE, opens on June 23, 2026 and closes on June 25, 2026. The allotment of shares will take place on June 29, 2026. The credit of shares to the demat account will take place on June 30, 2026. The initiation of refunds will also take place on June 30, 2026. The listing of shares will take place on July 1, 2026.

The offer consists of a fresh issue only. The fresh issue will include 72,40,099 shares (aggregating up to ₹585.00 crores). There is no offer for sale portion in the IPO. The total number of shares in the IPO is 72,40,099 aggregating to ₹585.00 crores. All values are assuming price discovery at the upper band of ₹808 per share.

Waterways Leisure Tourism is a book-built IPO with the IPO price band set between ₹769 and ₹808 per share. The lot size for an application is 18 shares. The minimum amount of investment required by a retail investor is ₹14,544 (18 shares based on upper band price of ₹808 per share). The minimum lot size investment for HNI is ₹2,03,616.

Incorporated in 2020, Waterways Leisure Tourism is a leading domestic ocean cruise operator. It offers luxury cruises via its cruise vessel, MV Empress, covering destinations like Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Chennai, Vizag, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. It also covers select global destinations like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. As of FY25, Waterways Leisure Tourism had a 79% market share of domestic ocean cruise business. It generates through its website, app, call centres, and its customer service channels. The company is now looking to expand its fleet.

Objectives of Waterways Leisure Tourism IPO

The company proposes to utilise the IPO proceeds for:

• Payment towards deposit / advance lease rentals.
  
• Monthly lease payments to its step-down subsidiary, Baycruise Shipping and Leasing
  
• General Corporate Expenses.
  

Industry Outlook

As of calendar 2025, overall cruise passengers in India stood at 4,77,676 with bulk of the demand accounted for by domestic cruises at 4,28,326, giving domestic passengers an 89% market share. Mumbai had the highest share of overall cruise passengers at 53% in calendar 2025. Other major cruise markets and destinations include Goa, Lakshadweep, Chennai and Kochi. The Indian cruise industry is very small compared to the global cruise industry and the global cruise industry has been consolidating in recent times. Just to give an idea, the 3 largest global cruise companies viz. Carnival Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Royal Caribbean Cruises have combined revenues of $54.4 billion.

India has tried to promote cruise tourism through initiatives like e-visas, visa-on-arrival, IGST exemption for foreign flag vessels, priority for cruise vessels over cargo vessels in berthing, reduction in port charges, waiver of cabotage etc. In terms of in-bound tourism, air and road remain the preferred modes accounting for 95% of the inbound traffic. Waterways only account for 4% of inbound tourism. India has some advantages like a long coastline, rising middle class, willingness to spend, better infrastructure etc. If the COVID period is excluded, the net margins of this industry has been between 8% and 9% overall. Between 2025 and 2034, the contribution of tourism to Indian GDP is likely to increase from 6.5% to 7.6%, which will be the big growth story to capture.

About Waterways Leisure Tourism

Waterways Leisure Tourism is the operator for Cordelia Cruises in India. It offers luxury and inherent Indian experiences. It has served over 7.3 lakh guests since inception and has covered more than 3.21 lakh nautical miles. It has a 79% market share in India. Between FY20 and FY25, the overnight cruise market in India grew from ₹576 crore to ₹830 crore. In the latest year FY26, the company had passenger load factor of 84.99%; having achieved 4,81,660 passenger cruise days out of 5,66,572 available passenger cruise days.

Average ticket price for the company has been steady around ₹10,979, with earnings per passenger at ₹12,036. Its fuel cost per passenger cruise day (PCD) was at ₹1,480.33 per day. The ROE and PAT margins of the company are under 1%, but that is the nature of this upfront long-gestation business.

Strengths of Waterways Leisure Tourism

• Pioneer in cruise segment with ability to leverage the tailwinds.
• India focused cruise experience with wide array of amenities.
• Margin optimization through substantial direct bookings, saving on commissions.
• Seasoned management team for consistent service delivery.
• Key services outsourced to improve operating efficiency.

Risks of Waterways Leisure Tourism

• Too much dependence on a single cruise ship, MV Empress.
• Cruise ticket sales account for over 91% of revenues, making its model risky.
• The company is betting on acquiring new vessels to expand, which can put pressure on margins.
• Auditors in their qualification have raised doubts over ability to continue as going concern.
• There is the risk that expanded risk capacity may not be matched by cruise demand growth.
• Critical services are outsourced to third parties, which can become a continuity risk.
• It has limited operating history and margins have been consistently under pressure.
• Price competition remains a major challenge for the industry.
• Sustaining occupancy rates is a big risk factor in this business and FY26 saw a fall in occupancy.

Anchor Investor Bidding Date: June 22, 2026

IPO Registrar
MUFG Intime India Private Ltd
Email: waterwaysleisure.ipo@in.mpms.mufg.com
Phone: +91-22-4918 6270

Book Running Lead Managers
Centrum Broking Ltd

Waterways Leisure Tourism Contact Details
A-1601, Marathon Futurex, NM Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Delisle Road, Mumbai – 400 013, Maharashtra, India.
Email: cs@waterways-leisure.com
Phone: +91 022 4984 4441, +91 022 4984 4444

Business Model

The business model of Waterways Leisure Tourism is based on offering a cruise with complete experience to the customers. It is betting on the growing demand in sync with better infrastructure and rising income levels.

Company Growth Trajectory

Between FY24 and FY26, the total operating revenues of the company increased from ₹444.06 crore to ₹579.75 crore. During the same period, the EBITDA improved very marginally from ₹111.15 crore to ₹117.48 crore. However, in terms of PAT, the company turned around from a loss in FY24 to net profits of ₹52.14 crore in FY26.

Market Position

The company has a strong position in domestic cruise tourism with a market share of close to 79%. However, the passenger load factor fell in FY26 from 91.6% to 85.0%. Average ticket prices and the revenue per passenger have grown marginally between FY25 and FY26.

There are not too many comparable companies in the same line of business with most of them being in the hospitality business with cruises only as an add on feature. However, globally, the cruise business is big business with the top 3 cruise companies having combined revenues of $55 billion.

How to Apply for Waterways Leisure Tourism IPO?

• Step 1: Log in to your Kotak Neo Demat account - Log in to your Demat account to access IPO investments. Next, select the current IPO section.
• Step 2: Specify IPO details - Enter the number of lots and the price you wish to apply for.
• Step 3: Enter UPI ID - After entering your UPI ID, click submit. This will place your bid with the exchange.
• Step 4: Mandate Notification - Your UPI app will receive a mandate notification to block funds.
• Step 5: Approve Request - Your funds will be blocked once you approve the mandate request on your UPI.