Starting from December 2006 the Italian Costa Crociere SpA, which operates the brands AIDA Cruises and Costa Crociere, will be offering cruises with departures from Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The official announcement was made during a series of official meetings, set to take place in Dubai on February 1 and 2, 2006, between a delegation from Costa Crociere – headed by Costa Crociere SpA Chairman & CEO Pier Luigi Foschi, Costa Crociere President Gianni Onorato, and AIDA Cruises SVP Operations Michael Ungerer – and political and administrative leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Deputy Chairman of DP World, and Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General of the DTCM (Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing).