Today marks a historical and significant day for Hurtigruten as their vision to become the ‘World Leader in Exploration Travel’ is becoming a reality; in 2018 and 2019 they will release the first in their specially designed expedition ships for Polar and Norwegian coastal routes!
The signing is the largest investment Hurtigruten has made in over 120 years of exploring the Arctic and Antarctic waters and it is to specifically meet the growing demand of adventure travel from holidaymakers across the globe. It will open up the polar waters and offer exciting new adventure opportunities for passengers.
The new ships will be constructed as state of the art vessels and designed specifically for adventure-rich expedition voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as the Norwegian coastline. It will explore some of the world’s most beautiful natural surroundings and offer a variety of activities for adventure seekers such as climbing, kayaking and whale and sea eagle safaris.
Passengers will also be able to listen to lectures from experts on topics like zoology, environmental science and history. There will be experienced expedition teams, too, that will accompany those who want to take part in educational excursions to isolated places that are only accessible by ships or zodiac boats.
Hurtigruten’s CEO, Daniel Skieldam, has stated: ‘People no longer want to spend their holiday being passive spectators; the new adventure traveller is looking for authentic experiences. This is why sedentary, standardized travel packages are becoming less popular and active adventure travel is booming’.
The cruise line prioritises sustainability so the new ships will feature advanced environmentally-friendly technology to reduce emissions, underlining its vision of playing a lead role when it comes to green shipping. The new vessels will be designed and developed by Rolls Royce with the assistance of Norwegian ship designer Espen Øino and will hold a capacity of 600 passengers with around 300 cabins.
Adventure tourism is one of the fastest growing global tourist trends valued at over £180 billion and has witnessed an increase in 195% over the space of 2 years. This new agreement for the line is testament to Norway’s strong international position as a shipbuilding nation and it’ll ensure Hurtigruten’s position as world leading within adventure tourism in the Arctic and Antarctica.
So what are your thoughts? Do you want to sail with Hurtigruten for a new adventure? Where would you most like to explore? Leave us your comments below!
