Costa Romantica Celebrates Maiden Call To Hong Kong

Costa Cruises, Europe’s number one cruise line, increased its passenger capacity in Asia on April 24 as the Costa Romantica celebrated her maiden call to Hong Kong with her high-flying Italian flag and iconic yellow funnel.
At the welcoming event, Dario Rustico, sales and marketing director of Costa Cruises’ Pacific Asia Operations; Francis Liu, deputy director of the Marine Department; Patricia So, acting deputy commissioner for tourism; Gilly Wong, general manager of MICE & Cruise of the Hong Kong Tourism Board; Alessandra Schiavo, Consul General of Italian Consulate General in Hong Kong and representatives from Costa’s key sales partners, conducted an officiating ceremony to mark the occasion. The arrival of the Costa Romantica, the largest ship the company has deployed to Asia, symbolizes Costa’s commitment to Hong Kong’s tourism industry.

“This is Costa Cruises’ fifth year in Asia. We have strived to offer our guests the true Italian style of cruising since 2006 and with an increased passenger capacity in the region, we can cater to the expanding cruise industry in Asia,” said Rustico. “The arrival of Costa Romantica to the region is a further testament of our ongoing commitment to the travel industry in Hong Kong and Asia. We also strongly believe in Asia’s long term potential and will continue to further develop this market with a target to make cruising the number one vacation choice for travelers,” Rustico added.

Costa Cruises will offer a total of 97 sailings in 2010 and Costa Romantica is expected to bring over 50,000 additional tourists to the region.

At the ceremony, Patricia So, acting deputy commissioner for tourism said, “the arrival of another magnificent vessel from Costa Cruises in Hong Kong demonstrates Costa Cruises’ long term commitment to Hong Kong, as well as the growing importance of the cruise market in the region. Hong Kong is well-positioned to help propel the growth in the region. With a world-class new cruise terminal to open in 2013, Hong Kong will move into the next phase of development as a leading regional cruise hub. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Costa Cruises in developing the cruise market in Hong Kong and the region.”

Gilly Wong, general manager of MICE and cruise of the Hong Kong tourism board said, “as cruising becomes more popular in Asia, we welcome international ships like the Costa Romantica to stopover  in Hong Kong as a gateway to Asia. It helps position Hong Kong as the regional cruise hub.”

Also joining the ceremony, Alessandra Schiavo, consul general of the Italian Consulate General in Hong Kong, said, “Costa Cruises is the only cruise company in Asia that is capable of creating an authentic Italian-style cruising experience, and we hope more passengers can enjoy this culturally rich Costa journey.”

Other officiating guests at the welcoming ceremony included Brett Leon Dudley, founder and chairman of ecruising Hong Kong/China Limited; Balwin Yeung, senior marketing manager of Hong Thai Travel Services; Ronnie Ho JP, chairman of Jetour Holiday Limited; Mr. Raymond Ng, general manager of sales, marketing and distribution of Kuoni Travel (China) Limited; Kevin So, deputy general manager of Sightseers; Jojo Chan, general manager of Wing On Travel Services Limited; Pietro Sinisi, Captain of Costa Romantica; Oscar Salvi, hotel director of Costa Romantica and celebrity guest Amanda Strang.

Costa Romantica (53,000 gross-tons; 1,356 dbl occ) will operate 30 cruises departing from Singapore, Tianjin and Shanghai to the finest cities of Asia. The cruise itineraries sail between April 17 and November 20, 2010, taking guests to various culturally rich journeys to Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

Costa Cruises is Italy’s largest tourism group and Europe’s Number One Cruise Line.  For more than 60 years its ships have sailed the seas of the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream vacations filled with fun and relaxation. The company’s 14 fleet members, each with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style, all fly the Italian flag and sail each year to 250 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean. Two more new ships are due to enter service by 2012. Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 2007) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2008).  Costa Cruises has been an official partner of WWF Italia for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea since 2005.  All the ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA’s Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with the highest environmental protection standards.  In the “Global Reputation Pulse” 2009 international study, Costa Cruises ranked first place among Italian “service industry” companies. Pulse scores are a measure of the corporate reputation of the 600 largest enterprises located in 32 countries worldwide. 

With revenues of approximately 2.6 billion euros and 1.82 million total guests in 2009, Costa Crociere S.p.A. is the largest Italian travel group and comprises the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Iberocruceros.  The group ranks in 10th place in terms of profitability and 65th in terms of sales in Mediobanca’s 2009 survey of over 3,700 Italian enterprises that recorded revenue of at least 50 million euros for the previous fiscal year.  Costa Crociere S.p.A. is a member of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest cruise operator. For more information on Costa Cruises or to make reservations, please contact a travel agent, call (800) GO-COSTA or visit www.costacruises.com.