Demand for expedition cruises is expected to plateau in the coming years as prices are set to rise, according to experts

Speaking to Cruise Trade News during a roundtable discussion held on the first night of the CLIA Expedition Showcase in Svalbard, Craig Upshall, director of retail sales for the UK, India, Middle East and Australasia at Polar Latitudes Expeditions, said he anticipates a slow in demand for expedition cruises in the next few years.

He suggested the slowdown could be due to a reduction in both the number of new ships being built and the number of new brands entering the market.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in the last few years, but from a holistic point of view, I think we will start to see a plateau in the next couple of years because the number of ships being built is reducing,” said Upshall.

“In the last eight or nine years, new players have entered the market which has expedited growth, but now we’re seeing the recycling of older ships and less growth in product, so I think there will be a plateau.”

Bernie Carter, director of sales at Atlas Ocean Voyages, disagreed saying the demand for expedition cruising will continue at the same level it has in recent years, but predicted prices will rise across all expedition brands.

“As new brands have come into the expedition market, there has been a pressure on price points because these new brands have wanted to become established so they have had lower prices,” he said.

“But as fewer new ships are being built while demand and awareness for the expedition cruise sector continues to grow, it means every expedition cruise line will be able to increase their price points back up to where expedition cruise belongs.

“As we go forward over the next couple of years, we’ll see expedition prices start to get back up to the prices they should be which is good for us and good for consumers.”

Asked whether it is good for consumers to have to pay a more premium price, Andrew Turner, sales director EMEA for AE Expeditions, said: “Prices have to go up for these operators to actually make a profit.”

Turner highlighted the Arctic as a one destination with significantly reduced prices due to a high number of operators sailing in the region.

He said: “Some operators are still trying to scramble for last minute sales and that isn’t what expedition cruising should be. It’s a premium product and it shouldn’t have a cheap price point.”