Costa Cruises, the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s number one cruise company, opens its sixth consecutive season in the Emirates with the flagship Costa Favolosa’s inaugural visit to Dubai.

A welcoming ceremony celebrated the first arrival of the flagship at the port, with the presence of Awah Al Ketbi, CEO of AL Ketbi Consultancy (responsible for running Costa’s offices in Dubai), Captain Mauro Muratore, as well as government officials and VIP guests from DTCM (Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing), tourism and maritime sectors.

Costa Favolosa (114,500 gross tonnage and 3,800 total guests) is the largest and most advanced ship deployed in the Emirates, a cruise destination offered by Costa Cruises as a world first in 2006.

Dario Rustico, Vice President Sales and Marketing of Costa Cruises Pacific Asia Operations said, “The arrival of our newest flagship Costa Favolosa to the region is a further testament of our ongoing commitment to the development of the cruise industry in the Middle East. By deploying our latest and most innovative ship we are confident we will stimulate the interest of the local market to choose a holiday at sea, with our ultimate goal to develop Dubai and the Middle East both as a unique destination and as a growing outbound market.

Costa Favolosa will offer our guests the truly unique opportunity to visit the most intriguing destinations in the Emirates and Oman on board an Italian cruise ship providing superb comfort, exclusive services and state-ofthe- art hi-tech entertainment.”

In (northern) winter 2011/12, from 16th December 2011 to 6th April 2012, Costa Favolosa will be sailing the exotic seas of the Arabian Gulf on seven-night cruises with two days in Dubai, one-day stopovers in Muscat (Oman), Fujairah (UAE), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Khasab (Oman) and ending with a further overnight stay in Dubai.

The “Jewels of the Emirates” cruise offers a mix of unspoiled oases and futuristic architecture, dune surfing, mosques and skyscrapers. This year’s route features the additional port call of Khasab (Oman), which boasts towering cliffs and deep blue water.

With this new positioning of Costa Favolosa, Costa will make 58 port calls in the United Arab Emirates in winter 2011/2012 and expects to see approximately 233,000 passenger movements.

In winter 2011/12, Costa Crociere S.p.A. Group’s, AIDA Cruises – Germany’s number one cruise company - will be offering seven-night cruises in the Arabic Gulf from Dubai, with her ship AIDAblu (71,300 gross tonnage and 2,500 total guests) providing approximately 90,000 passenger movements in the United Arab Emirates.