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Costa Cruises celebrates 65th year

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Cruise Tourism Department, hosted the 65th anniversary celebration of its premium partner Costa Cruises from Italy.

The 65^th anniversary falls on March 31, the number one cruise line in Europe with a fleet of 14 cruise ships, known for their excellence and state-of-the art nature in terms of services offered and spatial organisation.

DTCM organised a grand celebration to commemorate the occasion on Thursday with the arrival of C.S. Costa Atlantica and for the arrival of C.S. Costa Deliziosa on the April 1, 2013.

A miniature Heritage Village with activities portraying Arabian Hospitality and traditional activities, performance by Dubai Police Band and a live performance by a local music band, were arranged by the Department. The Dubai Cruise Terminal was also decorated with welcome banners and Costa brand colour balloon decorations customised for the occasion.

Over 8,000 passengers and crew of both the Costa ships had the opportunity to see and experience Arabian Hospitality and traditional activities arranged by DTCM at the Dubai Cruise Terminal in Mina Rashid.

Helal Al Marri, director general, Hamad M bin Mejren, executive director of Business Tourism, and Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, director of Cruise Tourism from the Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, exchanged the commemorative plaque with the Captain of C.S. Costa Atlantica as a part of the celebrations.

“Costa Cruises were the pioneers in selecting Dubai as home port for their Gulf Itineraries in 2006 and it has been a fruitful and ever growing business relationship since then. We were honoured to host the first ever cruise ship naming ceremony in the Gulf in 2010 for C.S. Costa Deliziosa and now we are proud to collaborate once again with Costa Cruises to celebrate their 65^th anniversary here in Dubai,” said Al Marri. “Costa has seen great success operating in this region and we at the DTCM are vigilant in rendering service and support to the cruise lines. We are sure that the bond between us will only grow stronger in the years to come.”

Dario Rustico, Sales and Marketing Central Europe, Africa, Middle East and India Director, Costa Cruises, said: “We are extremely glad to celebrate this important milestone together with a long term partner like DTCM here in Dubai like in many other ports around the world.

“Today Costa celebrates 65 years of leadership and innovation and Dubai stands as a clear example of our long term vision and commitment, underlined by the recent announcements that our close and uninterrupted relationship with this city will continue for the following seasons when Costa will position in the Region Costa Fortuna (Winter 2013-2014) and Costa Serena (Winter 2014-15). We are also glad to celebrate this special day with the millions of guests that have lived and shared their happy moments onboard of our vessels during these 65 years. We are looking forward and we are committed to share with them million of additional happy memories in the future.”

In 2011, the city hosted 396,554 cruise tourists. In 2012 the tourists increased to 407,825 with 105 ship calls. In order to cater to the increasing demand, Dubai’s cruise tourism facilities have been expanded and currently operates from three facilities spanning over 20,000 square meters on a pier stretch of 1,900 meters where up to sixcruise ships can be accommodated.

business@khaleejtimes.com