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The Costa Marina has called for the first time in Mauritius; the Costa Cruises fleet member departed throughout the 2007/2008 winter season on 14-day Indian Ocean cruises. This itinerary is marking the official debut of Mauritius as a new international cruise destination. On hand to welcome the Costa Marina on her inaugural stopover were Roberto Ferrarini, Marine Operations Director of Costa Crociere S.p.A., Robert Desvaux Chairman MTPA, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authorithy, the Italian Consul in Mauritius Stefano Zinno and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and Infrastructure, Port Authority, local institutions and business community.
“Over the last few years we have established ourselves as the first big cruise company to operate worldwide, offering itineraries that no other operator had ever marketed: China, the Far East, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius,” commented Pier Luigi Foschi Costa Crociere S.p.A. Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.
“We have been rewarded for these highly innovative choices by our customers, who have made our new cruise routes a success and stimulated us to further consolidate our presence in the East and Far East as demonstrated by the doubling of our ships in China and the Far East starting from 2009. Even Mauritius is proving a great success in our main reference countries in Europe, and also in Asia and North America. Today, though, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the authorities of Mauritius for their cooperation and commitment, which have enabled us to be the first to offer cruise departures from this splendid island.”
“We are proud to welcome the first Costa Marina call as well as to start this important cooperation with the leading cruise operator in Europe,” said Robert Desvaux, MTPA Chairman “Investments have been made to improve the passenger terminal of Port-Louis harbour and Mauritius Port Authority has confirmed that the works for a new cruise terminal will start in mid 2008 and be completed by the end of next year. Mauritius is definitely positioning itself as a major cruise destination in this part of the world.”
On December 22, the season in Dubai launched in the presence of Gianni Onorato, President of Costa Crociere S.p.A., Khalid A bin Sulayem, President of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), the Italian Ambassador Paolo Dionisi, Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ports & Free Zone World, as well as many representatives of local institutions and the business community.
“The cruises out of Dubai have proved extremely popular, especially in Europe, rewarding what turned out to be a far-sighted move, when we became the first to market this new destination,” commented Gianni Onorato Costa Crociere President “The expansion in the Dubai area also enables us to reinforce our promotion of Dubai and of our cruises in the Gulf not only in Europe, but also on the local market and across Asia, with an eye on China in particular. We wish to thank our most loyal guests: they prompted us to look for unique new destinations, and this led us to offer cruises from Dubai”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
