The sexy business of cruising

Cruising has come a long way since the old days of Love Boat, shuffleboard and steerage-level accommodations.

“It’s exciting, it’s sexy, it’s romantic,” says Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere SpA.

Costa, ranked No. 1 in Europe and the largest cruise company on that continent, is also the only international cruise line making committed port calls to Manila. That’s right: we’re no longer just a stopover on the way to some other exotic Asian port; Costa is offering the Philippines as a bona-fide travel destination in its glamorous, global itineraries.

“Cruising is growing faster than other segments of tourism,” notes Foschi. “The cruise holiday is becoming a new experience, and there’s more demand for the product in general.”

Just how sexy, exciting and romantic is modern cruising? How has it gotten past the old Captain Stubing stereotypes, or its perception as the sport of senior citizens?

“Basically, there is the attractiveness of the ship,” explains Foschi, who is also on the board of directors of Carnival Corporation, the conglomerate that owns Costa and a plethora of other cruise lines. As executive director Foschi handles all of Carnival’s European brands, like Aida Cruises, which caters to the German market, and Iberocruceros, geared towards Spanish cruisers. “Contemporary ships are very beautiful with a lot of art on board, a lot of features, plus there is the dream of the trip. You can visit several countries on same trip without having to pack every day, so it’s comfortable. Plus the life on board is very stylish in the sense that there is a lot of entertainment, theater, discos. If you want to gamble you can gamble, if you want to listen to live music you can. The food experience is very good and the service is excellent.”

Next year three of Costa’s ships — the Costa Allegra, Costa Classica and Costa Romantica — will bring a total of 20,000 tourists into Manila. Foschi, who paid a courtesy call on President Arroyo when he was in town last week, urged her to invest more in infrastructure to improve the ports of Manila, “so visitors can have a nice, clean and safe feeling when they arrive. She was very in favor of that,” he says.

Foschi says he likes the Philippines as a destination because of its beauty, history, and the origins of its people, which has more Latino influences than other countries in Asia.

“The thing the Philippines needs to do is develop more attractiveness for cruise ships,” he says. “There are no ports of call, only Manila. And cruise ships need to have certain facilities, certain infrastructure. If the Philippines could have more infrastructure that would be better because it would attract more cruise ships. Cebu is the next option, or other islands with beautiful beaches. In the northern part of Philippines I understand there is a nice place (Batanes). So I think there are plenty of opportunities in the Philippines.”

In addition to bringing in so many foreign tourists, Costa also happens to be a major employer of Filipinos. Its crew is 40-percent Pinoy, according to Doris Magsaysay-Ho, president and CEO of Magsaysay. Locally the group has partnered with Magsaysay, which has two training centers in Metro Manila to develop its manpower. “We do recruitment, selection and crew management,” says Ho, whose school even boasts a real-life simulation of a Costa ship’s cabin and teaches crew members to speak Italian. “The Costa brand employs 5,000 Filipinos, while the Costa group employs 8,000. Lots of Filipinos make careers there. They have good jobs and learn the standards of international tourism.”

Costa expects to have 10,000 Filipinos by 2012, when new ships will be built. Many work as cooks, waiters and cabin attendants, and Foschi says what sets them apart is their attentiveness, loyalty, and ready smiles.

Ho hopes that the government and Filipinos in general see these jobs as not just a chance to remit money to the Philippines but as an opportunity to build a career and bring the knowledge back home. “Not only do people get to save money, they get top-of-the-line, five-star learning,” she says. “When they retire, they can invest money in a bed-and-breakfast or a small hotel somewhere. And we should give our overseas workers that vision. They’re not heroes, they’re professionals. This is giving the Filipino exposure — you see the best of the world. More than just a job, it’s really a transformation.”

Costa’s most popular destination is the Mediterranean, and they’re the largest cruise company plying that route.

Other fashionable summer cruises are to Northern Europe, the Norwegian coast (with its fjords) and the Baltic Sea. South America is another trendy itinerary, sailing out of Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires. Costa is the first company to position ships in Dubai, while here in Asia they sail out of Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Manila.

“We offer a luxury experience at a very affordable price,” Foschi says, “but because of the size of our company, we have lots of economies of scale.” An average cruise costs around US$170 per person per day, which includes accommodations, all-you-can-eat food (since Costa is Italian, you can bet its Italian food is magnifico), entertainment, and facilities like the gym and swimming pool. One extra you can pay for if you wish is the spa, with its associated cabins, private elevator and spa-cuisine restaurant. “If you’re more conscious in terms of food and weight, you can also do that,” says Foschi, who in 2007 was named part of Club 33, American Travel Weekly’s list of the 33 most important and influential people in the global travel industry.

Though Costa is an Italian company, less than 40 percent of their clientele are Italian. The other 60 percent come from all over the world, and the demographic definitely skews younger — 40 and below — with a lot of couples, families and, of course, senior citizens.

“Cruising can be a profitable business if you’re a big company able to provide a very high level of product and service to customers,” he says. “But you can also lose a lot of money if you don’t do it right, so it’s a complicated problem. Ships are very sophisticated, technically speaking, so there is a high degree of complexity in the cruising business, from the construction to the operation of the ship, safety, security, the product itself and the kind of people. If you do it right, it can be very profitable.”

Attesting to that is the group’s 1.7 million passengers a year, giving Costa a quarter of the market share in Europe and an annual turnover of 2.5 billion euros. Large as it is, it’s still part of the largest cruise company in the world, the multinational Carnival Corporation (listed on the New York and London Stock Exchanges as Carnival), with its 12 brands and two branches in London and Miami. “With our ships today and new orders, we’ll have more than 100 cruise ships,” says Foschi. “Over 50 percent market share in the world.”

Last year Costa celebrated 60 years of service, though technically, the shipping company was born in 1854, doing other activities like trading. In 1948 the company entered into passenger shipping, and Foschi says that those who rode first class at that time didn’t have it nearly as good as the cruisers of today: “First class back then could be compared to the cruise experience of today, but it’s much better today.”

With that in mind, Costa’s globe-spanning cruises through the world’s most exciting ports are looking mighty inviting.

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To book a Costa cruise, call TravelPeople at 400-2505 loc. 8108 or 526-9625.

For training in Costa’s Preparatory Campus, call the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA) at 524-9996 or e-mail marketing@mihca.com.ph.