Hurtigruten eyestrade ramp up

The Australian travel trade are very much in the sights of Norway-headquartered cruise line Hurtigruten, with the company’s Managing Director, APAC Damian Perry telling travelbulletin the line had recently made a number of key local appointments and B2B technology investments in a bid to boost its focus on agents.

Formally opening a dedicated Australian office in Melbourne back in March,

Hurtigruten undertook a slew of appointments at the time, including Joel Victoria as Head of Marketing, Darren Wakefield as Inside Sales Manager, and Justine Costigan taking on the role of PR and Communications Lead.

But adding even further trade sales expertise to the team was the additional appointment of Steve Hona last month, who joined the company as its new Sales Director, Australia and New Zealand.

Perry believes Hona provides a “fresh set of eyes” on the way cruise line has traditionally engaged with the Aussie trade. “Steve is very, very focused on the customer and is very focused on the partners and the trade, he is passionate about creating solutions and getting better processes in place,” Perry said.

“Hurtigruten has been in the Australian

Once only known for their Norway cruises, Hurtigruten has seen growth in Australia from its expedition range.