Costa Cruises is celebrating its renowned annual Protagonists of the Sea event, designed specifically to recognize the top travel agents it collaborates with. From May 17th to 21st, the Costa Favolosa will host up to 1,800 of the company's partners from over 32 countries. They are the stars of a cruise that will call at Savona, Marseille, and Barcelona, and will be joined by the Costa Cruises sales team from all markets.
The 26th edition of Protagonistas del Mar will be truly “extraordinary” due to the wide number and variety of activities offered on board. The program, which will also feature the active participation of the Costa Cruises management team, is geared towards travel agents and has been designed based on their preferences.
“The Costa Group has an ambitious development plan that will allow us not only to reinforce our leadership in Europe and China, but also to innovate sustainably, opening new horizons for our sector and creating new opportunities,” commented Neil Palomba, CEO of Costa Cruises SpA. “During the Protagonists of the Sea event, we will review the many new developments that await us in the coming months, starting with the addition of our new ship, the Costa Smeralda, as well as the arrival of its sister ship and the Costa Firenze. But above all, we want to emphasize that, for Costa, people are what make the difference.”
A month before the event, travel agents were invited to express their preferences and opinions on various topics. Their responses became the starting point for developing a series of “extraordinary” activities that will take place both on board and ashore, as well as the plenary session 'Costa meets Partners' featuring Neil Palomba, Massimo Brancaleoni – Senior Vice President Worldwide Sales of Costa Cruises –, Giuseppe Carino – Vice President Guest Experience and Onboard Sales –, Mario Alovisi – Vice President Revenue Management Itinerary & Transportation – and Paolo Tolle – Vice President Human Resources.
Among the activities are the preparation of traditional Italian pesto, delicious tiramisu, and a cocktail. The latter will be added to the drinks menu of the company's new flagship, the Costa Smeralda. Furthermore, the pesto competition will feature Emiliano Pescarolo, the world champion of Genoese pesto made with a mortar and pestle, as a judge. He will evaluate the contestants in this preliminary round, a prelude to the next edition of the International Pesto Championship, which will take place in Genoa on March 28, 2020.
The awards ceremony will be hosted by the well-known Italian television presenter Maddalena Corvaglia, while the Spanish group of artists and musicians 'Music Has No Limits' will perform in the evening in a visually stunning show.
This same group will also be in charge of energizing the "Extra-vaganza" party, as will the bands "Ostetrika Gamberini" and "Quantum XXL" at other parties.
This event will be full of opportunities to enjoy incredible gastronomy prepared by Costa's corporate chef, Stefano Fontanesi, as well as Costa's partners in Italy, such as Ferrero, Aperol, Illy, Fabbri, Agrimontana, and Ferrari.
In addition, this year's star guest will be Italian chef Bruno Barbieri, who will present a small preview of the new menu created for Costa that will be available from May.
The twenty-sixth edition of Protagonistas del Mar can be followed on Instagram (@protagonistidelmare) and Twitter (@protagonisti19), as well as with the use of the hashtag #ProtagonistidelMare.
