12
CRUICE NORTH 2014
North Cape Turnaround Port (NCTP):
Turnaround
on top of the world
Turnaround operations are predicted to be the future of cruise traffic to
Northern Norway and Spitsbergen. There is a demand from passengers
for shorter cruises and the cruise lines wish to reduce fuel consumption
and offer new itineraries and destinations. This is a win-win situation.
It is estimated that the Northern
European cruise market will grow by 8-10
percent annually, and that passenger
numbers will double by 2023. New and
larger cruise ships will bring greater
volumes of guests for each call, and
the cruise lines will need to look for new
destinations to satisfy the curiosity of
repeat customers.
The North Cape is a very attractive
destination for many, and is a “once
in a lifetime” experience for cruise
passengers. More than 80,000
passengers disembark and visit the North
Cape Hall each year. This cruise traffic
accounts for 35 percent of the total
traffic to this outpost.
FLY AND CRUISE
Although the cruise traffic to Norway
and Northern Norway has increased
in recent years, Northern Norway lost
market shares due to stronger growth
further south. “Implementing turna-
round operations in Northern Norway
will be an important strategic move to
recapture market shares, as well as
create new traffic into a region that has
many exciting elements to offer,” says
Managing Director of Cruise Northern
Norway and Svalbard, Erik Joachimsen.
There is a great potential for calling
at ports east of North Cape, such as
Vardø and Kirkenes on the Norwegian
side and Murmansk and Arkhangelsk on
the Russian side. By sailing out of the
Norwegian customs zone, the cruise
lines will avert the cabotage laws and at
the same time create an opening with
new sailing patterns and exciting new
products for the passengers.
Svalbard is also outside the Norwegian
customs zone, even though technically
the archipelago is subject to the Kingdom
of Norway. Consequently, cruises to
Longyearbyen are an attractive destination
for cruise lines that wish to implement
turnaround operations in mainland Norway.
Honningsvåg, where all transit calls
occur, is 35 km from the North Cape
Plateau and 166 km from one of the
Tromsø
Svalbard
H
