Greece's Celestyal Cruises to focus on Bulgarian market, plans fleet rejuvenation - report

The overhauled ships are planned to be put into operation next year, Investor.bg business news outlet quoted Celestyal Cruises' chief commercial officer Leslie Peden as saying on Tuesday.

The travel company currently has 891 employees working onboard its two cruise ships - Celestyal Crystal and Celestyal Olympia, which offer an all-inclusive service. The number of employees working at the company's offices is 140.

In order to attract Bulgarian tourists, the company relies on cruises departing from the Greek city of Thessaloniki. The port there is particularly attractive, as there are many flights to the city and the place is more accessible to both people from the Balkans and travellers from Western Europe, Peden explained.

Celestyal Cruises has 11 key markets - USA, the Balkans, Greece, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the UK, Ireland and Cyprus. According to Peden, 16.5% of the passengers last year were from the Balkans and that is why the focus on the Bulgarian market is seen as important for the company's business development.

Celestyal Cruises is 60%-owned by US-based venture capital and private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners, which acquired the majority stake in November 2021 through an investment of $30 million (26.9 million euro).

($ = 0.8959 euro)