| Hurtigruten announces major expansion push in Australia

NORWEGIAN-BASED cruise line Hurtigruten has revealed it will open a dedicated Australian office to help capitalise on local growth opportunities (CW breaking news).

The expansion plan will see a sales, marketing and operations team recruited locally, as well as the establishment of a dedicated local website.

Hurtigruten sourced around 60,000 guest nights from the Australian market in 2019, many of which were secured via travel agents, with a local presence designed to leverage that growth moving forward.

“Hurtigruten’s story and experiences resonate very well with the Australian market, and our customer insights indicate that our travellers have a strong focus on sustainability,” said Hurtigruten Australia and APAC MD Damian Perry.

“The exclusively operational Hurtigruten Australia/NZ team will be passionate like-minded experts and leaders that will support the travel industry and partnerships to build our brand,” he added.

No details have yet been released on the timing and location of the new office, with Perry telling Cruise Weekly there was “still a lot of development work to do” and the company is responding to the industry’s needs and support for both trade and traveller.