In another blow to the travel industries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, Costa Crociere has announced the replacement of its calls in Tunisia, Egypt and Israel during 2011.
In a statement, the company says that it has "learned to value and appreciate the great appeal of these three countries as prime tourist destinations." However, due to recent events, the brand has decided to change the itineraries of the cruises which initially included calls in those countries.
For all the current season 2011 all the seven-day cruises in the Mediterranean of Costa Concordia, Costa Serena and Costa Magica with a one-day call in Tunis (Tunisia) will be replaced with a one-day call in Malta (Malta), Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Cagliari (Italy).
Moreover all the Mediterranean itineraries with originally scheduled calls at Alexandria (Egypt), Haifa (Israel) and Ashdod (Israel) will be modified and will offer alternative calls of equivalent attractiveness and cultural appeal such as Limassol (Cyprus), Rhodes (Greece), Marmaris (Turkey) and the new and extremely attracting ports of Alanya (Turkey) and Antalya (Turkey).
In its statement regarding the changes, Costa said that it is "trying to minimize as much as possible any last-minute calls modification."
At the same time, Costa Cruises is confirming all scheduled calls in Egypt, Tunisia and Israel for its 2012 program as presented in the official Costa 2012 brochure.
All the information on itineraries changes can be checked on the company’s website and through Costa partner travel agencies.
