Costa Cruises opening Dubai office to reach Middle East markets

Europe’s Number One Cruise Line Opens Representative Office in Dubai for Middle Eastern Business Development. Costa, Europe’s number one cruise line, is strengthening its presence in Dubai in order to develop the Arab cruise market.
Plans were announced jointly between Costa and the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) at a press conference Sunday aboard the Costa Deliziosa. Highlights included results for the 2009/2010 season in Dubai and plans for the winter 2010/2011 winter cruise program. Also presented were initiatives devised specifically to attract Arab consumers, thereby confirming the Italian company’s intention to provide “made to measure” cruises so as to satisfy the demands of its increasingly broad and international customer base.

“Following the huge success of the inauguration on February 23 this year in Dubai of the Costa Deliziosa, the first cruise ship ever to be inaugurated in an Arab country, our objective is to invest in Dubai, the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East not only as a regular destination for our ships, which we were the first in the world to do back in 2006, but also as a sourcing area so as to increase the number of cruisers choosing us for their vacations,” commented Costa Cruises President Gianni Onorato. “Our target comprises both local customers and the numerous expatriates who live and work in these countries.  This marks another step forward in our business development policy in the region, which we are implementing thanks to the support and assistance of the DTCM, and it also comes as further confirmation of our pioneering spirit and the international appeal of our product.”

Mr. Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM executive director of business tourism, said, “We are delighted that Costa Cruises is opening a Dubai office to tap the huge growth potential of cruise tourism in the Arab world. We assure our wholehearted help and support to make this venture a real success. It will certainly give a boost to our efforts to promote cruise tourism and provide enough encouragement to other cruise industry players to utilize the strengths and growth opportunities that Dubai offers.”

The Italian company’s fleet, which comprises 14 ships in service and another two on order is currently Europe’s largest and offers guests the opportunity each year to visit some 250 destinations all over the world.  During the press conference, it was announced that the Costa fleet members positioned in Dubai, sister ships Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa, will offer Arab guests a series of dedicated facilities. These include two prayer rooms for males and females, regional and Arabic food and drinks, menus and signs on board in Arabic, Arab-speaking shipboard front line staff, as well as Arabic TV and radio channels.

In addition, it was announced that a new representative office will open in Dubai, the Arabian Gulf’s business and tourism hub.  United Arab Emirates is thus set to become the 17th country in the world to have a Costa branch office.  The Italian company will be represented in the UAE by Al Ketby Consultancy and the office will promote and market Costa’s cruises in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East, together with all of the partners that Costa has worked with until now. The Italian company will target mainly families, couples and honeymooners from both the local and expatriate communities, as well as the many enterprises operating in the region that are potential incentive cruise customers.

To foster the growth of the Arab market, Costa has been studying specific promotional and marketing tools. During the winter 2009/10 season, shipboard visits were organized on the sister ships Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa, which departed from Dubai once a week. These visits were specially arranged for local travel agents and categories of potential customers such as government representatives and the expatriate community, with the aim of providing hands-on experience of the ships and the Costa product. Gulf travel agencies will soon be receiving a dedicated brochure featuring the most popular itineraries in this part of the world. 

Costa Cruises’ leadership in Dubai and the Gulf Region as a whole is confirmed by the company’s results for the 2009/10 winter season. During this season, Costa deployed its two top-of-range ships in Dubai, the Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa (92,600-tons; 2,260 double occ) with departures each week. These most exclusive and innovative members of the fleet operated on 7-night cruises calling on Muscat (Oman), Fujairah, Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Bahrain. The Costa Luminosa commenced her Dubai season on December 12, 2009 and concluded it on April 10, 2010. The Costa Deliziosa, which began her season on March 14 after her inauguration on February 23, will complete her season on May 9, 2010.  In addition, the Costa Europa (54,800-tons; 1,494 double occ) offered eight new 18-night cruises from Savona to Dubai and Dubai to Savona.

Costa’s ships recorded approximately 140,000 passenger movements in Dubai for winter 2009/10, up 40% compared to 2008/09, with a total of 32 port calls.  This traffic generated revenue for the local economy estimated at approximately 14 million euros* in 2009/10, derived from direct spending by Costa’s guests, shoreside excursions, transportation, port fees and expenditure on food and beverage.  In winter 2010/2011, a further increase is forecast with 31 port calls and 150,000 passenger movements, given the deployment of the Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa on 7-night Gulf cruises. The Costa Luminosa will depart on Mondays from November 29, 2010 through March 21, 2011; the Costa Deliziosa every Sunday from December 19, 2010 through April 10, 2011.

Costa Cruises, together with AIDA Cruises (the German brand and affiliate of the Costa Crociere S.p.A. Group) was the first company to market regular cruises in the Arabian Gulf, turning Dubai into a major cruise destination and contributing to its growth as a tourist resort. Costa Cruises’ operations in the region were launched in winter 2006/2007 with the deployment of one ship, the Costa Classica (53,000-tons; and 1,308 dbl occ) and approximately 44,000 passenger movements in Dubai.


*Figure based partly on the equivalent spending of cruisers in European ports according to the European Cruise Council’s estimate for 2008

In addition to the Costa brand ships, an AIDA Cruises ship, the AIDAdiva (69,200 gross tonnage and 2,500 total guests) called in Dubai 20 times during winter 2009/2010.  Ships belonging to the Costa Crociere Group (including both Costa Cruises and Aida Cruises) made 42 stopovers in Dubai this past winter, with a total of around 220,000 passenger movements.


DTCM is the principal authority for the development of tourism in Dubai.  Established in 1997, it is the sole body responsible for the licensing of hotels, tour operators and other types of travel trade companies.  Its supervisory role also covers heritage sites, cruise terminals and the Dubai Convention Bureau.  The DTCM has 18 overseas offices, including three in China and two in Saudi Arabia. For more information, please visit  www.dubaitourism.ae  or  www.definitelydubai.com .