Costa Crociere keen to add Muscat as a home port 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Costa Crociere, an Italian cruise company, is planning to add Muscat as one of the home ports for its cruises. The company, which currently operates cruises in the Middle East from Dubai, UAE, took part in a roadshow dedicated to promoting cruise tourism in Oman on Tuesday.Fabiana Maeran, a representative from Costa Crociere, said,''We are really interested in adding Muscat as one of our home ports.''The roadshow was conducted by Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in collaboration with Costa Crociere and Royal Caribbean International, USA. They will hold workshops in four more countries and will aim to promote cruises offered from Dubai.Hamad M bin Mejren, executive director of business tourism at DTCM, said, ''Our intention to conduct these workshops is not limited to promoting cruise tourism for Dubai, but to familiarise the region with cruise tourism and emphasise its significance to the region's economy.''Consolidating efforts, as well as sharing knowledge and experience with GCC travel agencies, is a core part of these workshops as well, he added.The workshop will be held in Kuwait on Wednesday and in Bahrain on September 27. It started on September 15 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. DTCM expects over 500 representatives from various cruise tourism companies to attend the workshop.''This is a fresh idea to promote cruises. We have had a good response from those att-ending the workshops in the region,'' said Lakshmi Durai, a representative of Royal Carib-bean Cruises.