Hurtigruten - an "anti-cruise"?

It's not as bad as it sounds. On the contrary! The Hurtigruten being described as an anti-cruise is in this context meant as something positive: "No bingo, no karaoke - just fjords and wild nature," says the The Times article.

Communication advisor Stein Lillebo of Hurtigruten said: "What's on the ship is not the most important thing, it's what is happening around us which is the key." Hurtigruten's ships carry both passengers and freight. Fork trucks loading and unloading, is actually one of the passengers most photographed scenes. Work on board runs its course, and it seems to catch on among the guests. "

Hurtigruten also offers many activities on land: Among things you can try if you are of the extra adventure-loving kind, is arctic fishing, dog sledding, snowmobile tours and eagle watching.

Here you can read the original article about the "anti-cruise".

(Picture borrowed from Hurtigruten.)

Hurtigruten aiming to increase sales in Finland

According to Reiselivsavisen.no, Hurtigruten is to increase its focus on the Finnish market. Hurtigruten has set up a Finnish website and the company will have sales representatives present in Finland. Following a successful initiative in Sweden, Hurtigruten has turned its attention towards the east.

Anne Ljung Dahl is sales and marketing manager for Hurtigruten in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States. She will lead the sales team from Sweden, but will have frequent meetings in Finland.

She says: "Just as in Sweden, there is great interest in Finland for Hurtigruten. I'm convinced that we can create the same demand for Hurtigruten as we have done in Sweden."

The Scandinavians reading this blog can check out Reiselivsavisen's article.

(Picture borrowed from Hurtigruten.)

Hurtigruten with a new promotional film/commercial!

(Picture borrowed
from Hurtigruten.)

Marketing and communications company Los & Co has developed the new promotional film/commercial for Hurtigruten. Here's what they say about the film:

"The film has several functions: It will position Hurtigruten as the lifeline along the Norwegian coast. In addition, people who live along the coast feel that to travel with Hurtigruten is part of their upbringing. They will choose Hurtigruten rather than travel by air, fast ferries, car or bus.

New price structure:

The film also launches Hurtigruten's new pricing structure; day price. Now, customers feel that it is easier and cheaper to travel with Hurtigruten from port to port."

The film is directed by Hans Petter Moland and the famous norwegian actor Bjørn Sundquist has the lead role. This commercial has a feel that will appeal to most people on the coast, and elsewhere. (Don't understand Norwegian? I think you'll like it anyway.) Check out the new promotional film below!

Hurtigruten Press statement: Best Specialist Cruise Company!

Hurtigruten has just released a press statement:

For the third year in a row, Hurtigruten was voted "Best Specialist Cruise Company" in the prestigious Globe Travel Awards in the UK.

The recognition is given by a total of 6,000 travel agents in the UK, and is therefore very prestigeous. Hurtigruten won against tough competitors such as Star Clippers, Viking River Cruises and Voyages of Discovery.

- This is a prestigious award in a very important market for Hurtigruten. It is definitely a recognition for Hurtigruten's product. The fact that we win for the third year in a row says a lot about the efforts made over time, says Trond Øverås, Global Product and Marketing Director of Hurtigruten.

The ranking is carried out by the British travel magazine Travel Weekly in partnership with media group Associated Newspapers, and the prize was handed out in London on the 17th of January 2010.

Øverås think the category "Best specialist cruise company" suits Hurtigruten well. - We are a niche operator in comparison with the major cruise companies. Our competitive advantage is our unique destinations, be it along the Norwegian coast, on Svalbard, in Antarctica or Greenland, he says.

(Picture borrowed from Hurtigruten.)

Huritgruten's use of the Internet and social media

Hurtigruten has seen the importance of the Internet and social media when it comes to attracting new guests, and making guests come back for more. The company has invested heavily in the use of the Internet as a medium: In the past year Hurtigruten has made a 10-fold increase in internet sales, launched websites in 12 languages​​, started playing with social media and put together a powerful web team.

Hurtigruten has realized that being visible on the internet and understanding how social media engage potential customers is vital for their business. Hurtigruten uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media, and employees are blogging eagerly about Hurtigruten's offers and activities. The company has websites in nearly twenty countries. All these channels will give good results for potential customers seeking information about Hurtigruten on the Internet.

On the blog Hurtigruten Web Team Blog, you can follow the work and ideas behind Hurtigruten's focus on the Internet. Interesting reading, particularly for individuals and businesses who see the potential of the Internet for their business or company.

On the MS Fram expedition blog you follow the adventures of Hurtigrutens expedition ship, the MS Fram. This ship sails Spitsbergen, Greenland and Antarctica. Hurtigruten's employees in the U.S. blogs as well, with a mix of information and beautiful photos from all of Hurtigruten's range of experiences. Similarly, we can read the Hurtigruten in France blog. There's also a separate blog for cruise reviews from satisfied customers, giving new customers interesting information.

Hurtigruten has an official YouTube channel, check it out! Of course, the company is also on Facebook. Finally, Hurtigruten's appealing websites that are easy to navigate in. The subsidiary Spitsbergen travel a has website of similar design.

Atle Markeng's travel guide for Hurtigruten

A Hurtigruten enthusiast named Atle Markeng have made ​​a great travel guide for Hurtigruten that you can view and download by clicking the link above. It's in Norwegian only, so this treat is for Hurtigrutens Scandinavian-speaking guests.

He writes in the introduction: "The purpose of this guidebook is to provide advice and practical information to travel with Hurtigruten. It covers everything from the choice of season to travel, ship, cabin, booking and how to get the most out of your trip. In addition, it includes some information about wind, waves and sea marks. You will find little of the typical topics from tourist brochures."

Definitely worth checking out!

(Picture borrowed from Atle Markeng's travel guide.)

Get ready for a Chinese "invasion"!

The newspaper Nordlys (printed edition) reported Monday 17 January, that the first ever bus load of tourists from China visited Tromsø Villmarkssenter (Tromsø Wilderness Centre) with great success. 

The bus load came from a Hurtigruten ship. Hurtigruten has noted the increased desire to travel from the Chinese. Information Officer of Hurtigruten, Stein Lillebo, says the company has seen increasing numbers of passengers from China. "They are fascinated by the winter, northern lights and our nature, and are not scared of travelling the long distance from China to Norway to experience this."

Hurtigruten has long seen the potential in China and has sales agents in Beijing and Hong Kong.

(Picture taken from http://www.hurtigruten.com/)

NRK paying for massive advertising campaign for Hurtigruten

The headline of this post may be a bit exaggerated, but on the 15th of January 2011 NRK (the Norwegian Broadcasting Company) announced that it will make a five-day continuous live broadcast from one of the Hurtigruten's ships sailing along the Norwegian coast. The national TV-channel NRK2 has cleared space on its television schedule, and for five days (8040 minutes) the viewers all over the world (it will be broadcasted on the Internet as well) will get a unique insight into what Hurtigruten can offer, cruising along the 2500 nautical miles of spectacular Norwegian nature.

NRK has earlier made a similar broadcast with NSB's (Norways biggest train company) route between Oslo and Bergen. This broadcast was supprisingly a big success. There is no doubt that this will show Hurtigruten's product in a unique way for potensial guests from all over the world.

The value of such a live broadcast on a national TV-channel, one can only speculate about. But it is no doubt that the broadcast and media discussion around this will be worth millions in advertising money for Hurtigruten. Also, the ripple effects of this project is important for the tourism industry in Norway, and perhaps especially for the tourism businesses that are highly dependent on Hurtigruten and its passengers.

Hurtigruten's most popular shorter trips

As you might know, Hurtigruten offer cruises along the Norwegian coast. A lot of passengers take the full tour, twelve days from Bergen to Kirkenes, and back to Bergen. Many boards the ships at Bergen and travel home by plane, from Kirkenes. Or the other way around.

But a lot of people travel shorter distances with Hurtigruten. These are Hurtigrutens most popular shorter trips:

1. Bergen-Trondheim

2. Tromsø-Svolvær

3. Bergen-Ålesund

4. Tromsø-Trondheim

5. Bergen-Tromsø
6. Ålesund-Bergen
7. Svolvær-Tromsø
8. Bodø-Tromsø
9. Trondheim-Tromsø

I've also written a post about which shorter trip considered to be the most beautiful.

Source: Hurtigruten's most popular shorter trips (Norwegian)

Hurtigruten - Focus on sales of shorter trips

This is taken from a press release from Hurtigruten:

Hurtigruten, having lots of guests on roundtrips with their ships, wants to get more attention to their offer of shorter trips to and from the 34 ports that Hurtigruten visits.

Hurtigruten wants to be the coastal populations first choice of transportation and introduces a new pricing structure for the distance travel product. The new day-pricing system is based on three season-related minimum rates for travel, including the cabin. In the increasingly more popular winter season it will be possible to enjoy Arctic adventures on board the Hurtigruten for 740 NOK per day in unspecified cabin. 

Hurtigruten has some 250,000 short trip guests annually. The goal is to increase this by 25 percent. This is one of our most important markets and is the foundation of Hurtigruten's activities since the beginning in 1893. We will be the coast's first choice - whether it is comfortable transportation or if you will indulge in a unique weekend. Now you can get the world's most beautiful voyage including cabin for 740 NOK a day.

Prices per day for winter, fall/spring and summer will be, 740, 880 and 1,250 NOK in unspecified cabin. For guaranteed outside cabin, the price is 790, 980 and 1,550 NOK. For the 10 most popular short routes, the new system will mean a reduction of 30 to 49 percent in prices, depending on the selected sailing - this is with a guaranteed outside cabin. 

(Picture borrowed from Hurtigruten.)