Costa Group carried five out of ten cruisers in major Continental European marketsCosta Group carried five out of ten cruisers in major Continental European markets

The Costa Group claims to be the market leader in Italy, Germany, France and Spain in 2014.

Last year German passengers booked every second cruise with the Costa Group brands, in France it claims a market share of around 45% and 40% in Spain.

In China around four out of ten bookings in the rapidly growing market are made for Costa ships, the group says. Costa Atlantica, is currently on the first 86-day round-the-world cruise for Chinese passengers and in April 2015, Costa Serena will be the third Costa vessel offering cruises from China.