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In this video you’ll hear from James Howlett, Hurtigruten’s sales director UK
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More on sustainability
James details Hurtigruten’s sustainability drive in the video (and transcript below), and adds that one of the other standout innovations the line has made is its state-of-the-art reactor process, whereby it is reducing edible food waste daily.
“We are reducing 250 kilos of edible food waste every single day, reducing it by 90% and converting it into compost, all within a 24-hour life cycle, which then again comes into our sustainability with our food and where we’re getting our food from as well,” he says.
This initiative means that more than 144,000 kilos of food waste annually is repurposed into nutrient-rich compost. And every 14 days, the compost is delivered to various ports of call to make sure that Hurtigruten is getting more fresh produce to really improve the circular food system as well.
“So it’s something that’s super important to us and Norway as a destination as well,” adds James.
Video transcript
With Hurtigruten’s sales director UK, James Howlett, and TTG Media’s Jennifer Morris.
Jennifer: Welcome to our In The Spotlight video with Hurtigruten. James, can you start off by telling us a little bit about Hurtigruten’s product types: that is, Original Voyages versus Signature Voyages.
James: It’s important people understand we have two distinct product categories now within Hurtigruten Group. Obviously, the Original Coastal Express that many agents will know and love, which we’ve done for 132 years. It travels 12 days and covers over two and a half thousand nautical miles, sailing from the south part in Bergen, going all the way up to the north, into Kirkenes and then back down to Bergen, going to 34 incredible ports of call along the way. They’re often known as the original postal route, and it still delivers cargo to local communities, connecting all these incredibly beautiful ports of call along the Norwegian coast.
And then a couple years ago we launched our Signature Voyages, which are a more premium experience tailored to perhaps the classic cruise customer. This offers all-inclusive, incredible food and beverages to some really unique destinations. Some of the ports of call are the same as coastal, but many are different.
So for example in the summertime, the Svalbard line follows the midnight sun, sailing from Bergen, going all the way up to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in the realm of the polar bears and what have you. And then in the winter months, we travel the North Cape Line sailing, which goes from Oslo, so into the Norwegian capital, down to the southernly most point of mainland Norway, right up to the northernly most point of mainland Europe, hopefully in search the incredible Northern Lights as well.
Jennifer: Can you tell us a bit about Hurtigruten’s very rich history?
James: We’ve been doing this incredible route for 132 years. We started in 1893 and the whole purpose has been connecting these incredible communities along the coast of Norway. We’ve transported locals, cargo. And obviously over the last few years, more international guests to these incredible 34 ports on that 12 day round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen. Often though, as the world’s most beautiful voyage, the Norwegian coast is spectacular for its scenery, for wildlife.
And today we’ve got, seven custom-built ships on that particular route, offering immersive experiences, showcasing that beautiful, natural coastline of Norway and really soaking up that cultural richness that Norway has to offer as well.
Jennifer: I believe Hurtigruten specialises in small ship sailing.
James: Yeah, absolutely. Our ships are maximum 500 people; really small and intimate. Obviously, Norway’s known as a great destination for cruise companies and cruise lines, but we offer such a unique experience with having ships that only cater to around 500 people as an absolute maximum.
It just means we can go into really small ports of call, but more importantly, it’s a really informal atmosphere. It isn’t requiring, ballgowns et cetera, and getting dressed up for dinner. So it’s super relaxed. You’ll probably see more hiking boots than formal wear going off to dinner.
We’ve got an incredible expedition team who are there to enhance the customer’s voyage on the sea and on the land part of these incredible sailings as well. Also, because the ships are so small, it just means we can really hug the coastline of Norway. We can sail into some really unique areas – into those beautiful fjords and so on.
Jennifer: And can you tell us a little bit about Hurtigruten’s sustainability ethos?
James: Yeah, absolutely. Sustainability is something super important to not just Hurtigruten, but Norway as a whole, as a destination. In fact, we were recently ranked the top cruise line in the Friends of the Earth 2024 cruise ship report card, and it just underscores how important environmental commitments, industry leading innovations and dedication to responsible tourism is to us.
At the heart of what we do is something that we call Norway’s Coastal Kitchen, which really is about eating locally, sustainably. You are going to get fresh ingredients in many of the destinations we go to. So over 80% of our ingredients for food and drink are coming from the areas that you’re actually visiting.
We use over 70 local suppliers, over 15 incredible ports of call, making sure that not only we’re getting the best ingredients, but also the freshest and the most high-end as well. Also, since 2022, we’ve been making sure we’ve been trying to lead the way in waste reduction and improve in our circular food system.
So we’ve cut water consumption by 8% and waste by 4% per guest. And after five years of dedicated efforts we’ve already significantly reduced edible food waste, dropping from 261 grams per guest in 2019 to only 65 grams per guest in 2023. And that’s all as we’re improving our offering throughout an increase in guest numbers onboard as well.
Jennifer: I hear a lot about Hurtigruten Rewards. Can you tell us a little bit about what those are?
James: Yeah, absolutely. So in 2024 in October we launched our Hurtigruten Rewards programme, the whole purpose of which was designed to recognise and reward travel agents for their incredible loyalty over the years. And so what we have is a really user-friendly platform. Agents simply go on there, they create an account and they track their rewards and their bookings.
It just means that everything on there is rewarded properly. So every booking that someone makes turns into points: 100 points for our coastal bookings, 200 points for our signature bookings, which can straight away be redeemed into monetary vouchers, which you can spend in hundreds of different retailers around the UK.
So this just means people have got super flexibility, they can save their bookings and take them all out in one go, or they can keep swapping them as and when they make a booking as well.
So it’s just a huge thank you for the incredible travel industry for supporting us over the many, many years we’ve been in operation.
Jennifer: Thank you so much for sharing all of that advice, James, and thank you for watching our In The Spotlight video with Hurtigruten.
James: Thank you.
