Costa Cruises and Barcelona City Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) promoting a sustainable economy of the port city of Barcelona (Spain) and putting at the forefront key values like sustainability and inclusive tourism.
Costa made the first steps, acting by establishing Costa Customer Hub (a new multilingual center) located in Torre Mapfre (skyscraper in the Port Olimpic, the maritime neighborhood of Barcelona's Old City), intending to improve customer services, while the company contributes to the local community with employment and training.
A month ago, EUR 40 million were allocated for the promotion of the blue sector, a part of the measures of the municipal government, a project including a total of 70 companies and institutions of the city's blue ecosystem. The aim of the contract is to put innovation and sustainability in the first plan in Barcelona, and the economy linked to the sea becomes an indicator of the city's development.
According to Jaume Collboni (First Deputy Mayor for Economy, Labor, Competitiveness & Finance, of the Barcelona City Council, and president of Barcelona Activa), "the landing of a large company in the city, which decides to have its base in Barcelona as a pool of innovation, talent and technology to increase its competitiveness and generate work and wealth.”
Collboni highlighted the municipal commitment to the project, "an investment that we frame in the BCN Green Deal economic strategy, specifically in promoting a model of sustainable and quality tourism and the Blue Economy."