Along with cruise line executives from Azamara Club Cruises; Crystal Cruises Inc; Carnival UK; Holland America Line; Princess Cruises; Royal Caribbean International; Silversea Cruises; TUI Cruises GmbH and The World, Dario Rustico, Director of Sales & Marketing, Central Europe, Africa, Middle East and India, Costa Cruises, will spend several days in the UAE capital discussing the development of cruising in the Middle East amongst other key regional issues.
Costa’s Dario Rustico said: “The UAE and region is a firm fixture in our winter deployment and we are planning to invest more to develop the local source market. For the 2013/2014 season, we will deploy two ships in the region – the Costa Fortuna with a capacity for 3,470 passengers and the Costa NeoRiviera which has a capacity for 1,727 passengers - offering cruises calling at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Khasab.
“The two ships will make a total of 27 cruises in the region and next year we will deploy a larger ship, the Costa Serena, which has a capacity for 3,780 passengers for another 17 cruises”.
The 3-day Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum takes place at the five-star Rosewood Abu Dhabi, Al Maryah Island from 9-11th December 2013 and is organised by Seatrade, with the support of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and its Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau.
