Hurtigruten’s Au growth

HURTIGRUTEN is witnessing strong growth in the local market, with the company’s primary focus in Australia to engage with agents and boost awareness, managing director of APAC Damian Perry told Travel Daily in Sydney yesterday.

Hurtigruten is highlighting its product offering in Iceland, Greenland, Svaldbard, Franz Josef Land and the Northwest Passage, while Norway is currently proving popular with Australians travelling with the company.

Perry explained Hurtigruten was seeing the Australian traveller typically doing longer journeys and opting for the company’s Explorer product.

Next year, Hurtigruten will increase its number of ships in Antarctica from two to three, with the addition of the hybridpowered MS Roald Amundsen.

“We’re offering new and varied product in Antarctica,” Perry said, emphasising it would provide appeal “to a broad audience”.

Amundsen will debut in 2019 as the first of two battery hybridpowered ships the cruise line will add to its fleet, with MS Fridtjof

Nansen scheduled to follow. Perry said Hurtigruten would offer three unique ships in Antarctica, allowing guests to choose between the hybridpowered Amundsen, the expedition ship MS Midnatsol and value offering of MS Fram.

Damian Perry is pictured.