Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Maritime launches passenger cruise season with Italy’s Costa Cruises
Aitken Spence Maritime of Sri Lanka has reportedly launched the passenger cruise season with Italy’s biggest tour operator Costa Cruises.
Accordingly, the passenger vessel ‘Costa Victoria’ had called at the Colombo Port on last Tuesday (5) carrying 1,739 passengers and 790 crew members on board.
Costa Cruises offers cruise holidays to Europe, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Asian destinations and the Costa Victoria vessel is adorned with a stunning combination of Italian and Swedish design, with a capacity to accommodate 2,394 passengers in 918 cabins and suits.
It has been reported that Costa Cruises offers cruise packages to West India, Maldives and Colombo on a fortnightly basis during the season for those seeking to join the voyage from any port of call.
Aitken Spence Maritime has reportedly persuaded Costa Cruises to continue cruise calls to Colombo, considering all precautions taken by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Navy and the Police ensuring the safety and security of all passengers.
Hence, Costa Cruises will have six vessels between November and December this year calling at the Port of Colombo.
These visits are expected to act as a key influencer for tourism, paving the way for other cruise operators to call at Sri Lankan Ports.
“We are delighted to begin the passenger cruise season by facilitating the first vessel Costa Victoria. Aitken Spence Maritime has been aggressively promoting cruise calls to Colombo and are expecting several cruise operators in the following weeks. It is also inspiring for the team to see their efforts materialise. Aitken Spence Maritime will continue to offer comprehensive, synergised services to cruise operators that in turn will boost tourism in the country,” Iqram Cuttilan, Managing Director of the Aitken Spence Maritime sector has been quoted as saying in the local media.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is on a continuous growth path. The sector has shown an impressive return to normalcy following the setback suffered in the Easter Sunday attacks in April. Tourist arrivals to the country are on the increase and Sri Lanka continues to maintain the top slot as the destination of the year in several key global travel publications. All these have expanded business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20191114/Z_4 |