NEWS

Hurtigruten opened its new U.S. headquarters in Seattle, Washington on September 29. The opening of the offices comes at a time when Hurtigruten is significantly growing its presence within the competitive adventure and expedition travel space in the U.S. market.

In addition to administrative offices, the new headquarters will also have a consumer travel center where the public can learn about Hurtigruten voyages to destinations including Norway, Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, Canada, South America and Europe, book trips, attend events and learn more about exploration travel.

“Adventure and expedition travel are the fastest growing segments in the travel industry today and the U.S. is one of the largest source markets for this particular segment,” says Gordon Dirker, Managing Director of Hurtigruten North America.

“After we reentered the U.S. market in partnership with an external sales and marketing company nearly four years ago, we have grown our business to a level that justifies the opening of our very own U.S. headquarters in Seattle. Fully staffed by a team of expert sales and marketing professionals we continue to be aggressively focused on growing our sales in the largest of all explorer cruising markets. These are very exciting times for our company.”

Hurtigruten has 20 employees in the Seattle office and 10 others working throughout the rest of the U.S. In addition, the company works with about 60 percent of U.S. travel agencies including brands like Liberty Travel, Signature Travel, AAA clubs across the U.S. and most major consortia.

The line currently has expeditions that include Canada, specifically Newfoundland. “Our flagship operations/home offices will remain in Oslo, Norway, but we do hope to offer new itineraries with departures that will be more convenient for U.S. travelers,” says Dirker.

“This is a tremendous milestone for the company as we continue to expand our U.S. operations,” says Daniel Skjeldam, CEO of Hurtigruten. “The demand is growing within the expedition travel segment and   the building of a world-class office and consumer-centric facility comes at a perfect time for our continued growth in the U.S.”

Earlier this year, Hurtigruten announced the construction of two new state-of-the-art vessels, which will be designed and customized specifically for adventure-rich expedition voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as along the Norwegian coastline. The new ships, being built in partnership with Rolls-Royce will be equipped with advanced environmentally-friendly technology to reduce emissions.

“Our new ships will reduce the fuel consumption by approximately 20 percent,” says Dirker. “For the first time, fully electric propulsion on a passenger ship will be possible. This technology, in combination with the construction of the hull and effective use of electricity on board, will reduce the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 20 percent. This amounts to more than 3,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.”

Hurtigruten’s expedition voyages sail to the most remote of destinations, including Antarctica, Greenland, Arctic Canada, and the Arctic’s Spitsbergen, as well as year-round along Norway’s coast. The company’s fleet of 14 intimate ships each carry 100 to 646 guests.