Hagen: Viking is “just getting started”

VIKING Chair Torstein Hagen (pictured) has celebrated the cruise line’s 25th anniversary on Fri with a video message flagging further growth ambitions.

“It is hard to believe that the little company we started on 05 Aug 1997 has become the Viking of today,” he said.

“We knew right from those early days that we wanted Viking to be different...we had a vision that travel could be more destination-focused and culturally enriching,” Hagen added.

Hagen traced Viking’s history, claiming to have “invented the category of modern river voyages” in 1997.

Growth accelerated in 2012 with the launch of Viking’s longships, which have “now become synonymous with European river voyages,” he said.

“With the introduction of our small ship ocean voyages in 2015 we reinvented the category and brought the focus back to the destinations,” Hagen added, while the latest innovation is Viking’s new Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris expedition product.

“We have become a global brand, one Viking with 10,000 employees exploring 20 rivers, five oceans, five Great Lakes and all seven continents.

“We still think of ourselves as a little company but I must say that what we have accomplished is remarkable,” he said, paying tribute to Viking’s global team & thanking guests for their loyalty.

The line’s growth continues, with the recent launch of the new Viking Saigon on the Mekong, this month’s debut of Viking Osiris on the Nile, and the upcoming Viking Mississippi which will “bring modern river voyages to America,” he enthused.

“The first 25 years have been good but I feel we’re just getting started.”