Costa Cruises has entered its second tripartite partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board and Changi Airport Group.
The three-year tripartite partnership will leverage Costa’s global presence, Singapore’s cruise hub status and Changi Airport’s air hub connectivity to further enhance south-east Asia’s appeal as a cruise destination.
The partnership will see joint-marketing initiatives rolled out in different countries where Costa operates worldwide, and includes creating attractive packages especially for Costa’s guests.
It is expected to bring in over 100,000 international fly and cruise visitors to Singapore over three years.
Costa Cruises was the first cruise company in the world to start regular cruises in Asia back in 2006.
Currently four ships out of the 14 in the Costa fleet are based in Asia year-round.
The Costa Fortuna is a ship with a total capacity of 3,470 guests, and currently deployed in the Far East will be homeported at Singapore from mid November 2018 to March 2019.
“Costa Cruises is a pioneering company in the cruise market, constantly innovating its product offer to deliver guests an unforgettable cruise holiday experience.
“We are thrilled to strengthen the opportunity to further develop such an exotic destination like Singapore, where Costa has a longstanding presence and which offer a big potential for the cruise holiday market thanks also to the presence of the international Changi Airport,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises.
Singapore is a popular gateway to the Southeast Asian region for cruise visitors, due to its strategic location, dynamic tourism landscape, and leading air and cruise infrastructure.
In 2017, Singapore welcomed 421 ship calls and logged a passenger throughput of 1.38 million.
This represents an increase of three per cent and 17 per cent respectively over 2016 figures.
“STB is delighted to enter into another partnership with Costa Cruises and Changi Airport Group.
“Costa Cruises is a valued partner that has homeported out of Singapore for over ten years.
“This latest collaboration will leverage Costa’s strong brand in key long-haul markets in Europe to further diversify our cruise visitor source markets, and strengthen
Singapore’s position as the region’s homeport of choice,” said Yap Chin Siang, assistant chief executive, policy and planning Group of STB.