Costa Asia celebrated in Shanghai its 10th anniversary on July 1 by inviting industry partners and staff representatives to witness Costa Asia become the first international cruise company to reach the 10th anniversary milestone in China. The 2,000,000th passenger also attended the celebration as the guest of honor and was awarded with a free ticket for a Costa Cruises vacation.
Since its maiden China voyage in July 2006, Costa Asia has achieved a number of industry firsts. It was the first large international cruise company authorized to operate and deploy home ports in China. Over the past decade, Costa Asia has maintained customer-first principles and focused on innovation and excellence to bring Chinese passengers the most creative and high-quality cruise products, all with the flavor of “Italy at Sea”.
So far, Costa Asia has served 2 million passengers in the China and Asia markets. According to China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association statistics, in 2015, China had over 1.1 million cruise visitors, and Costa Asia was recognized with the most voyages and passengers, consolidating its leading position in China with a 38.31 percent market share.
From its earlier deployment of Costa Allegra (2006), Costa Classica (2009) and Costa Romantica (2010), to the more recent Costa Victoria “The Ship of Fashion” (2012), Costa Atlantica “The Ship of Art” (2013), Costa Serena “Rome at Sea” (2015) and Costa Fortuna “Museum at Sea” in April 2016, Costa Asia brings its “Italy at Sea” flavor to Chinese passengers, offering them 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’. We wish to express our gratitude to local communities for their consistent support.” said Buhdy Bok, Costa Asia President. “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,” Bok concluded.
Costa Asia’s fleet will welcome the arrival of Costa neoRomantica in 2017 and add two 4,200 berth new-builds specifically designed for the China market, coming in 2019 and 2020. In addition, AIDA Cruises, a leading German cruise brand, will also join Costa Asia in 2017 by stationing a ship in China year-round for the first time, home-ported in Shanghai for the China market.
Costa Asia has shown its commitment to the China cruise industry by increasing the number of Chinese onboard staff and collaborating with local institutes to attract and train local talent for the best tailor-made cruising experience for Chinese passengers. Costa Asia has so far employed a total of 2,700 Chinese staff aboard its fleet. Based on the successes the group has achieved, the cruise liner plans to increase the number of Chinese staff aboard to 50 percent by 2020 and create more career opportunities for the China cruise industry.
