Costa Cruises cancels most Malta calls for next year

Costa Cruises has cancelled most of its previously regular Friday stops in Malta for next year and will only be making around 12 calls instead of more than 50, according to industry sources.

The agent of the company in Malta, Sam Mifsud of SMS travel, refused to comment when contacted yesterday to confirm the news.

The revelation follows comments made by competitor Norman Hamilton on Wednesday, who announced that one of the largest cruise companies would be slashing the number of journeys it makes.

Although Mr Hamilton chose not to reveal the name of the company, The Times has confirmed that he was referring to Costa Cruises. Industry sources were not able to confirm the exact reasons for this change in itinerary but said things were likely to revert to usual for the 2012 schedule.

“It could simply be a supply and demand issue. If one operator books a large number of cabins but demands a change in itinerary, these things can happen,” one source said. “But I don’t think this is the end of Costa in Malta.”

Whatever the case, the outlook for next year is still positive, according to Valletta terminal operator Viset, which said yesterday evening it had received several bookings for 2011.

Viset said it was expecting to close 2010 with higher passenger movements when compared to 2009.

Passenger movements since January of this year show a 14 per cent increase over the same period last year. Furthermore, the increase in cruise passenger movements in October 2010 supports Viset Malta’s optimism for this year’s performance.

The terminal operator’s comments came on a day when five cruise ships berthed in Valletta carrying around 3,700 passengers. At an average spending rate in Malta of €60 per passenger, taking into account passenger and crew contribution to the local economy, in one single day the business they are expected to generate is estimated at around €250,000.

“We operate in a highly dynamic and competitive industry. Ports in different countries compete against each other to attract cruise lines. Our projections for 2011 are positive and as encouraging as the results for 2010 have revealed,” Viset Malta CEO John Portelli said.

The first warning that all was not well with Costa came last March, when Mr Mifsud warned that the company was expected to reduce its ships’ calls from next year.

The former Malta Tourism Authority chairman had given the news when another cruise liner, the Norwegian Gem, stopped its weekly calls at the Grand Harbour.

The liner, which first came to Malta in May 2008, replaced Malta with Spain’s Palma de Majorca, a move that saw the island lose a staggering 93,000 cruise visitors this year.

Meanwhile, Mr Hamilton, the agent of MSC Cruises, said on Tuesday that MSC will bring 120,000 passengers to Malta next year, only 10,000 fewer than this year.

“But we are planning drastic increases for 2012,” he added.