Italian cruise line Costa looks ahead with optimism

Italian cruise line Costa Crociere might be decreasing its regular stops to Malta in 2011 but the cruise ship group will be compensating for lost calls with bookings through its Spanish subsidiary Ibero Cruceros.

Sam Mifsud of SMS travel, the local agent of the Italian cruise line group, said Costa had 56 calls to Malta in 2010. While it would be cutting back on trips to Malta next year, the group will be making 53 calls to Valletta when considering bookings made by Ibero Cruceros, Mr Mifsud said.

Moreover, he said the group was looking into the 2012 schedule and the prospects looked very good with the possibility of increases.

The former Malta Tourism Authority chairman was reacting to news that Costa Cruises did not include on its new schedule most of its previous regular Friday stops.

“This is definitively not the end of Costa in Malta,” he insisted.

Asked to explain the move by Costa, one of the most renowned brands in the industry, Mr Mifsud said it was a case of itinerary change. “Fortunately, Costa’s decreases are being made up for by its subsidiary,” he said.

Valletta terminal operator Viset this week announced it had received several bookings for 2011. 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 entered Grand Harbour carrying about 3,700 passengers. At an average spending rate 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 about €250,000.