Hurtigruten chief commercial officer Patrick Brewer unveils his vision for the British market and shares tips on how agents can attract an additional strain of clients by promoting the line’s new Norwegian coastal sailings

“It’s no secret – we have had a very, very good start to the wave season,” Brewer says, reporting the line is already seeing bookings come in for 2025. “We’re not trying to prevent that, but of course we want to maximise 2024 first.”

The coastal cruise operator – which split from its sister company HX last year – has also seen a shift in the traditional booking window, with customers based in its largest market, Germany, opting to purchase trips closer in.

In the UK and the Asia Pacific regions, meanwhile, clients are booking further ahead. “In Q1 2025 we are seeing a very positive pick up, while 2024 is where we see the major volumes coming in,” Brewer explains.

“For certain markets, like the UK and the Nordics, the key focus among our trade partners is to push summer bookings. Overall our bookings are up from last year and it is picking up pace. It’s all going in the right direction.”

Last year, the company launched two new itineraries – Svalbard Express and North Cape Express – to mark its 130th anniversary, which it operates alongside its Original Coastal Express sailings.

‘We own the Norwegian coast’

“Even though we’ve been around for 130 years, we still want to develop and we want to use experience to deliver additional, immersive, options along the Norwegian coast,” adds Brewer.

“We own the Norwegian coast, which is why we want to provide guests with iconic experiences, and people are liking [the new itineraries], which is good.”

As well as recently refurbished ships, the new itineraries offer 16 ports of call to allow customers to “take a deep dive” into the disembarkation points.

“There’s always a choice for guests when they step into these ports, and we want to make sure they have plenty of time to really experience a destination,” Brewer says.

Hurtigruten ‘putting final touches’ on 2024 fam programme

Anthony Daniels, vice president of sales and marketing UK and emerging markets for Hurtigruten, says there is “a lot of opportunity” for different types of agents when it comes to utilising the line’s new product to attract additional clients.

“Our first step is to make sure we’ve got the right assets to get to the right agents,” he adds. “This will include training initiatives, webinars and roadshows.”

The line is currently building its fam trip schedule for 2024, with the first trade-focussed trip slated for April. “It’s about getting back to the basics, explaining the difference and helping agents identify potential customers already within their portfolios,” Daniels continues.

“There’s always demand from me that I want more people in my sales team, because the bigger the team you get, the more people you can spend real rich time with, but at the same time, we’ve got to keep driving those sales to justify the growth of the team.”