EUROPEAN CRUISE COUNCIL ISSUES NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTING SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN EUROPEAN CRUISE MARKET

Costa, Europe’s Number One Cruise Line Experienced Record Growth in 2008; Forecasts Continued Increased Growth
MIAMI (May 21, 2009) – With a fleet of 14 ships, three new ships due for delivery by 2012, a record 1.2 million total guests in 2008 and 1.5 million forecasted for 2010, Costa Cruises has confirmed its position as Europe’s Number One Cruise Line. According to the latest European Cruise Council (ECC) figures, the expansion of the cruise industry is exceeding expectations in terms of its impact on jobs, wealth creation and inbound tourism in Italy and across the continent.

The fourth edition of the “European Cruise Contribution” report of the ECC, presented in Rome this week, shows direct expenditure by cruise companies, shipyards and passengers of 14.2 billion euros in 2008 (a 10 percent increase from the previous year), with 4.3 billion euros from Italy (+9 percent compared to 2007). Italy derives the greatest economic benefits from the cruise industry in Europe (30 percent of total spending in 2008).

A key factor behind this growth is the increasing number of passengers embarking on cruises from European ports, up 10 percent to 4.7 million in 2008.  Italian ports are the busiest in Europe with 1.7 million departing passengers.  There is a similar pattern for the continent’s transit passengers, who numbered 21.7 million in 2008 (+14 percent). Italy remains Europe’s favorite cruise destination with 23 percent of transit passenger movements, followed by Greece (20 percent), Spain (17 percent) and France (8 percent).

Europe’s position as the world’s leader in cruise ship design and construction is also helping to drive this growth. The ECC report estimates that during 2008 the global cruise industry spent around 5.2 billion euros on cruise ship construction and maintenance in Europe. Italy is the country with the biggest slice of the 5.2 billion euro pie, with 1.5 billion spent.

Another rise for 2008 was seen in the number of Europeans taking holiday cruises, up 10 percent to 4.4 million. In addition, there was an increase in the number of people employed in the cruise industry in Europe, with approximately 311,000 jobs in 2008, 15 percent more than the previous year.

In this context of rapid expansion, Costa Cruises has consolidated its position as the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s Number One Cruise Line.  In 2008 the Italian Company carried a total of 1.2 million cruise guests (75 percent Europeans), setting a historic record for Europe.  In addition, Costa Cruises has its sights set on achieving 1.5 million total guests in 2010.  In 2008 the Costa Crociere S.p.A. Group (comprising the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Iberocruceros) recorded total sales of 2.35 billion euros (+17 percent compared to 2007).

The Costa fleet is Europe’s largest and most advanced with 14 cruise ships (including the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica), all flying the Italian flag with a total guest capacity of approximately 36,000. The Italian company has the largest order book of any cruise line in the world, with five new builds scheduled between 2009 and 2012, all commissioned from Fincantieri and under construction in Italy, with an overall investment worth nearly 2.4 billion euros. Three of the new ships are due to join the fleet in less than 12 months. The Costa Luminosa (92,600 tons and 2,826 total guests), delivered on April 30, 2009, will be followed on May 29, 2009 by the Costa Pacifica (114,500 tons and 3,780 total guests) and at the end of January 2010 by the Costa Deliziosa, a sister ship of the Costa Luminosa. Two sister ships of the Costa Pacifica will join the fleet in spring 2011 and 2012. AIDA Cruises, the German affiliate of the Costa Group, also contributes to the development of the European shipbuilding industry.  The AIDAluna (68,500 gross tonnage and 2,500 total guests) entered service in March of this year. Another three vessels, each able to accommodate 2,500 guests, are on order from Meyer Werft and are due to join the fleet in spring 2010, 2011 and 2012, with a total investment of over one billion euros.

Costa Cruises has commissioned MIP, the Milan Polytechnic School of Management, to conduct a study assessing the economic benefits derived from its activity in Italy.  According to the initial results of the survey, the Costa Cruises brand alone produced total business output in Italy worth at least 1.1 billion euros, generated by the port calls of Costa’s ships, cruise passenger movements to and from airports, general expenditure, transport, fees and taxes and investment in new ships. Initial estimates suggest that the regions that benefited most from the activity of allied industries last year were Liguria, Lombardy, Latium and Sicily.

Costa Cruises’ leadership is also confirmed by statistics from the main Mediterranean ports. According to the ECC report, the top six EU cruise ports in 2008 were Barcelona (2 million passengers), Civitavecchia (1.8 million passengers), Naples (1.2 million passengers), Venice (1.2 million passengers), Palma de Mallorca (1.1 million passengers) and Savona (772,000 passengers).

Costa Cruises’ ships accounted for about 30 percent of the passengers in these leading six Mediterranean ports, with 2.1 million cruisers (embarking, disembarking or in transit) last year.

Costa Cruises is Italy and Europe’s Number One Cruise Line.  For the past 60 years its ships have sailed the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream vacations with the best in fun and relaxation. In 2008, 1.2 million guests chose to cruise with Costa, a record for the European cruise industry. The company’s 14 fleet members, each with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style, all fly the Italian flag and sail each year to 250 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean. Three additional ships are on order through 2012.

Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 1999) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2000).  All ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA’s Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with the highest environmental protection standards. Costa Cruises is an official partner of the WWF for the protection of the marine ecoregions of the Mediterranean, the Greater Antilles and Brazil.  In Mediobanca’s 2008 survey of over 3,700 Italian enterprises that recorded revenue of at least 50 million euros the previous fiscal year, Costa Crociere S.p.A. ranks 72nd in terms of sales and in 12th place in regards to profitability.