Costa Asia was the first large international cruise line authorised to operate homeporting ships in China
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Costa Asia celebrated ten years of cruising in China on 1 July.
The first international cruise company to reach such a milestone in China, Costa Asia marked the anniversary by inviting industry partners and staff representatives to an event in Shanghai. Costa Asia’s 2,000,000th passenger also attended the celebration as the guest of honour and was awarded with a free ticket for a Costa Cruises vacation.
Costa Asia was the first large international cruise company authorised to operate homeporting ships in China and sailed its maiden voyage from the country in July 2006. Since then, the line has achieved a number of industry firsts and served two million passengers in the China and Asia markets. Last year, Costa Asia held a 38.31% share of China’s cruise market, according to China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association statistics.
Initially the line deployed Costa Allegra (2006), Costa Classica (2009) and Costa Romantica (2010) in China, and more recently has homeported Costa Victoria (2012), Costa Atlantica (2013), Costa Serena (2015) and Costa Fortuna (2016) in the country. It aims to bring ‘Italy at Sea’ to Chinese passengers to enable them to enjoy an authentic European cruising experience.
“Over the past decade, we have invested in the China cruise market to bring passengers the flavor of ‘Italy at Sea’,” said Buhdy Bok, Costa Asia president. “We wish to express our gratitude to local communities for their consistent support. We would also like to thank all of our staff for their dedication and the invaluable contributions they have made to the company and its passengers.”
Costa Asia’s fleet will welcome Costa neoRomantica in 2017 and two 4,200 berth newbuilds specifically designed for the China market in 2019 and 2020.
To date, Costa Asia has employed a total of 2,700 Chinese staff onboard its fleet and plans to increase this by 50% by 2020. The company also works with local institutes to attract and train local talent to ensure it can tailor the cruise experience for Chinese passengers.