Cruise holidaygoers can now set sail on the Costa Romantica from Sanya. Costa Cruises, owned by the world’s largest travel leisure company Carnival Corporation & plc. The Costa Cruises staged a festive ceremony at the Phoenix International Cruise Terminal to celebrate the kick-off of Costa Romantica’ seasonal deployment on January 4th, 2020.

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Guests attending the inaugural ceremony included the following: Mr. Tong Daochi, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Sanya Municipal Committee; Mr. Liu Cheng, Vice Director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province; Mr. Liu Zhichun, member of the Party Committee of Haikou Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station and Director of the Border Inspection Department; Mr. Chen Xiaoya, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Sanya Municipal Committee and Secretary General of the CPC Sanya Municipal Committee; Mr. Zhou Jun, Deputy Mayor of Sanya Municipal People’s Government; Wang Weihai, General Manager of the Sanya Phoenix Island International Cruise Terminal; Mr. Roger Chen, Chairman of the Carnival Corp in Asia; Mr. Stefano Boccaccio, Captain of the Costa Romantica; Mr. Benedetto Minuto, Director of  the Hotel Department of the Costa Romantica; and guests from the travel agencies and media representatives.

Hainan is located at the southern end of the Pan-Pearl River Delta and is close to the Southeast Asia. Benefiting from its abundant tourism resources and unique geographic location, Hainan has devoted great efforts in developing cruise industry and promoting the construction of cruise home port, with the aim of helping the island develop into a “South China Cruise Center.”

As the first international cruise brand to develop home port cruise routes in China, Costa Cruises has always been committed to “developing cruise industry” as its mission, and is working to cooperate with Hainan and Sanya governments to further bolster the overall development of Hainan and Sanya’s cruise industry.

Knowing the huge development potential of Sanya’s cruise industry, Costa Cruises has deployed cruise vessels to call at the Sanya Phoenix Island International Cruise Terminal for many times. The new cruise line not only shows the Costa Cruises’s commitment to further cultivating the South China market, but also ties in with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, bringing new travel experiences to Chinese consumers and promoting the cultural and tourism industry exchanges between Sanya and Southeastern Asian countries and regions.

7Roger Chen, Chairman of the Carnival Corp in China

“On behalf of Carnival Corp. and Costa Cruises, I am very glad to be here with you to celebrate the inaugural deployment of Costa Romantica,” said Roger Chen, Chairman of the Carnival Corp in China. “Carnival Corp and Costa Cruises are optimistic about the prospect of Hainan’s cruise market in Hainan, and are looking forward to working together with the Hainan provincial government and the Sanya municipal government to promote the development and prosperity of Hainan’s cruise industry.”

The opening of new cruise line is a good attempt to promote the development of the cruise market in Hainan and Sanya, especially in promoting the optimization of the software and hardware facilities of the cruise terminal and uniting the local diversified cruise sales systems, as well as further cultivating cruise market and cruise culture.

8Liu Cheng, Vice Director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province

“We would like to extend our warmest welcome and sincere congratulations to Costa Cruises for actively exploring the cruise tourism market in Hainan and becoming an important participant in building Hainan into a “Tourism Center in Southern China. Hainan is a hot spot for entrepreneurship due to its unique advantages in policy, geographic location, environment and infrastructure. We sincerely welcome the cruise industry giants, including Costa, to explore businesses and deepen the cruise market. We sincerely welcome all enterprises to develop business in Hainan,” Mr. Liu Cheng, Vice Director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province said.

9Zhou Jun, Deputy Mayor of the Sanya Municipal People’s Government

Zhou Jun, Deputy Mayor of the Sanya Municipal People’s Government, said, “The inaugural ceremony marks another solid step forward for the city’s development as an cruise home port. The opening of the new cruise line is an important measure for Sanya to implement of the spirits of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s “4•13″ important speech and the spirit of the Central Document No.12.” He added that Sanya would make full use of its unique advantage as a strategic pivot point on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative, combining the superior port resources and favorable climate environment to accelerate the construction of Sanya’s international cruise terminal and international yacht port.

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Costa Romantica, an Italian-inspired luxury liner famous for its dexterity and delicacy, has a total tonnage of 56,800 metric tons and a passenger capacity reaching 1,800. Living up to its name, Costa Romantica dazzles with its richly embellished public rooms that feature rare woods and Carrara marble as exquisitely detailed by the finest European artisans. Guests will also be sailing with rare and original works of art like sculptures, paintings, murals, wall hangings and hand-crafted furnishings.

During the ship’s three-month deployment, the Costa Romantica will ply the South China Sea, departing from thriving Sanya in three-, four-, and five-night destination cruises to locations in the Philippines and Vietnam.