Costa Group and its parent Carnival Corporation have this week  reaffirmed their joint commitment to Italy and Europe overall, announcing they will hire approximately 4,500 Italian crew members by 2022 to provide support for existing and primarily new ships currently on order.

With over 5,000 Italian crew members currently employed on Carnival Corporation ships, the number of employment opportunities will almost double in number.

The Costa Group, which includes the Italian brand Costa Cruises, the German brand AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia, has 76,000 berths on its 27 vessels, the largest fleet of cruise ships flying the Italian flag. With Genoa serving as Costa’s headquarters, Italy is the country that benefits most from Costa Group’s business.

Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation, said: “Since 1990 we have built 68 ships in Italian shipyards for various brands in our group of 10 world-leading cruise lines, and another 10 vessels are currently on order or under construction, for a total investment of about 32 billion euros.”

The impact generated from Carnival Corporation’s global fleet is widely positive on many fronts,  first and foremost with the direct hiring of new crew members. Costa Group and Carnival Corporation are one of the main employers of Italian sailors and make a significant contribution to the Italian economy through partnerships with local suppliers.

Mr Donald added, “Given the demand for Italian crew members that the new ships will create, Costa Group and Carnival Corporation are looking into working with one or more of Italy’s nautical institutes. This is a formula that has already been a success with the Italian Merchant Marine Academy, both for deck and engine staff and the hotel side, with the recent opening of the Academy for Italian Cruise Hospitality in Arenzano.”