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Costa Cruises has gained high-level market recognition in China after receiving two awards in quick succession. World Traveller Media’s ‘Top Cruise Lines of Popularity’ Award 2008 came shortly after Costa was awarded ‘Best Brand Campaign’ at Travel Weekly’s China Industry Awards 2008. These two awards demonstrate Costa Cruises’ strong leadership in the Chinese market. As the first international cruise company to enter the Chinese market three years ago, Costa has gained the approval and recognition of both the market and its consumers.
At China International Travel Mart 2008, Costa Cruises was presented with the ‘Top Cruise Lines of Popularity’ award by World Traveller Media for the second time. This is the only cruise industry recognition award in the 2008 World Traveller Awards and it reaffirms Costa’s commitment to bring new and innovative cruise products that meet the special demands of the Chinese market. A holiday experience onboard the Costa Cruises fleet, which is characterised by its Italian influences, has increasingly become the epitome of the cruise holiday option in China. More importantly, through the company’s tireless pursuit for high quality services, Costa continues to enjoy a soaring consumer satisfaction rate in the Chinese market.
As the leading international brand in the Chinese cruise market, Costa truly understands the needs and preferences of Chinese holidaymakers and has continuously introduced bold and eye-catching marketing campaigns to educate, foster and grow the company profile. With this spirit of innovation and dedication to leverage on new media and new channels to reach out to a wider target audience group, Costa Cruises was awarded the ‘Best Brand Campaign’ in Travel Weekly’s China Industry Awards 2008. Costa won the votes of almost 600,000 readers of Travel Weekly China, in a category which included all travel providers, including hotels, airlines and tourism boards. This award recognises the achievements and devotion of Costa to the China market.
Costa Cruises, the leading cruise line in Italy and Europe, was the first international company to schedule regular cruises in China and Asia. Its operations began on 3 July 2006 with the positioning of the Costa Allegra. Now Costa is the only international cruise company to operate 12 months a year in Asia. The cruise itineraries, developed in line with market demands, are based in the ports of Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong. The cruises stop at several attractive destinations for Chinese visitors including Sanya, Halong Bay, Da Nang, Okinama, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Jeju. Almost 60,000 Chinese visitors have embarked on a Costa cruise to enjoy the Italian holiday experience over the past three years.
“The two awards we received recognise our commitment and long-term contribution to the Chinese cruise market,” said Leo Liu, China General Manager of Costa Cruises. “Over the past year, we have launched numerous new marketing programmes, such as the sponsorship of Feng Xiao Gang’s latest New Year blockbuster ‘If you are the One’ which saw a production crew filming onboard Costa Allegra for almost a week. Costa remains optimistic about growth in China and the great support we have recieved from our customers, partners and Government authorities. We will continue to drive our passion to pioneer even more innovative and unique programmes in the market.”
After more than two years of developing and fostering the market in a sustainable way, China’s cruise market has now entered a new stage of development. Costa remains optimistic about the Chinese cruise economy and will be increasing its investment in China to meet the growing demands of the local marketplace. From April 2009, Costa Classica will be joining the Costa Allegra in the Chinese market. As one of the most popular ships amongst Costa’s fleet, the elegance sophistication of Costa Classica will add a new dimension to Costa’s world-famous Italian cruise style in China. More importantly, it will allow even more passengers to enjoy a wonderful and memorable cruise holiday in the Far East.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
