EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Latvia, Port, Tourism, Transport

According to the Freeport of Riga, Costa Pacifica is the largest passenger ship calling in port of Riga this summer, with the total capacity of up to 3,780 passengers. Altogether, Costa Cruises accounts for about 25% of all cruise passengers visiting Riga, making it by far the largest regular cruise line visiting Riga this season (for details see here).

Kitija Gitendorfa, President of Latvian Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (ALTA), says: “We are happy to see that it is becoming an increasingly important destination for cruise ships, and we are proud to co-operate with a major cruise operator like Costa Cruises. There is so much to see and do in Riga, and we are confident that once the passengers get a taste of Riga, they want to come back.”

Costa Cruises ships have been visiting Riga since 2006, bringing Costa Pacifica to the route in 2011. Ship was completed in 2009, she is 290 metres long with a gross tonnage of 114,500 and can hold up to 3,780 passengers on her 14 decks.

In 2014, Costa Pacifica plans to visit Riga seven times, bringing up to 26,000 passengers. Altogether, Costa Cruises has five cruise ships sailing in the Baltic sea this summer, making it the largest cruise line in the region. Company is represented in the Baltics by Representation Specialist Baltic GSA.

For 65 years the ships of Costa Cruises have plied the seas of the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream holidays with the utmost in terms of fun and relaxation. Its fleet, the largest in Europe, has a total of 14 ships in service, flying the Italian flag, and 1 new ship to be delivered in October 2014. Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification for social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2008), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 2007) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2008). All the 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.

Representation Specialist Baltic GSA was founded to work solely as a representative for Airlines, Cruise Lines, Hotel Chains, Car Rentals and others tourism suppliers. For the represented companies Baltic GSA acts as the local agent in all functions concerning: Sales, Marketing, Reservation & Ticketing, Call Center and Helpdesk for the Travel Agents. Beside Costa Cruises Baltic GSA represents: Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, all brands of Royal Caribbean International and Silversea Cruises.