Costa Cruises’ Growth Continues

With about 1,200,000 cruise guests in 2008 –a record for the European cruising industry- more ships under construction or on order than any other company in the world and over 250 destinations, Italy’s largest tourism group and Europe’s no.1 cruise company, Costa Cruises, continues to expand despite the global downturn.

In 2008, Costa Cruises was, for the second year running, the only European cruise line to exceed the record figure of one million total Guests in just 12 months, with about 1.2 million total Guests. In Europe, roughly one out of every five cruisers chose a Costa ship. Costa Cruises now has its sights set on reaching 1.5 million Guests in 2010.

Despite the unfavorable economic situation, the Italian company continued to record significant and encouraging performances in the first months of 2009, thanks both to the popularity of the product among its Italian and international customers and to its reputation as a highly reliable 60-year old brand.

The Italian Company’s growth is backed up by a major fleet expansion program and ongoing product investment. Costa Cruises has more new ships on order or under construction than any other operator –five in total- scheduled for delivery by 2012 and entailing a total investment of 2.4 billion euros.

In overall terms, Costa Cruises will be increasing its capacity in 2010 by 16 percent compared to this year, with approximately 250 destinations and over 100 different itineraries.

But the innovations for 2010 go beyond the itineraries and the ships. There are also two new types of excursions, with a total of over 1100 different options. The 2010 cruise itineraries include around 240 eco-tourism excursions, comprising visits to parks, oases and nature reserves, with programs that minimize the impact on the ecosystem and create economic opportunities for the local communities.

Looking forward, Costa Cruises leads a sector in which business prospects look good not only for 2009, but also for years to come. The number of European cruisers is expected to increase by 30 percent between 2008 and 2012, from 4.6 million passengers to 6 million (source: Cruise Industry News).

There is substantial potential for further expansion of the European cruise industry within the package holiday business as a whole. Europe currently accounts for 40 percent of worldwide demand for vacations and tourism, compared to 27 percent for North America, and this proportion is set to increase by another 10 percent between 2008 and 2012.