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SEA
Costa’s alliance with the Ligurian town of Savona began in
November 1996. The links have grown stronger over time,
thanks to the massive support of the local Port Authority,
other local institutions and indeed the townspeople.
Since 2003, the year when Savona became Costa’s main
homeport, the Company has made major investments here
(totaling 12.6 million euros), above all in the construction
of the
Palacrociere
, a state-of-the-art cruise terminal.
In 2015 the Savona Palacrociere handled
230 calls
with
over 1 million passenger movements, up 3% on 2014;
the facility employs around 150 people engaged in port
operations, security and hospitality services.
The partnership strengthened further in November 2015,
with the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding
by Costa,
the Municipality of Savona and the local
Port Authority
setting out a shared vision for the long-
term sustainable development of the cruise industry and
tourism in the township. The three main areas of focus in
the agreement – on which Costa will be working jointly
with the Savona signatories – concern environmental
protection, creation of social and economic value locally,
and dissemination of the results achieved.
As regards the environment, Costa is already engaged in
a series of initiatives aimed at energy efficiency and the
reduction of exhaust emissions, as well as monitoring
of the noise impact of ships during port operations. The
actions planned under the agreement will also cover
regulation of vehicle access to the Palacrociere and the
further improvement of the process of recycling and
disposal of shipboard waste.
On a social and economic level the goals of the
Memorandum are
to create new employment
opportunities
locally and to consolidate relations with
the local community. An integral part of the agreement is
the
training both of young people
from Savona, in
the form of work placements at the Palacrociere, and of
employees already working at the terminal so as to further
enhance the level of service delivered to cruise passengers.
There will also be educational programs for local secondary
school students and forms of cooperation with universities
for research projects dealing with the cruise industry and
tourism. The Palacrociere will open its doors to the town
with visits from school groups, open days, cultural events
and lectures.
The joint management – under the terms of an agreement
between the Municipality of Savona, the Port Authority,
the local Chamber of Commerce and Costa – of the “
Info
Point
” located in the port next to the cruise terminal will
also help
improve the quality of service
and tourist
information provided for the Company’s guests.
Growing partnership between Costa Cruises and the town
of Savona