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CRUISE NORTH 2013 EDITION TIME TO TURNAROUND IN THE NORTH? RUSSIA NEXT WINTER CRUISING NORTHERN SEA ROUTE TO JAPAN cnns.no It’s all about people, comfort and experiences in good All over Northern company. Norway Out travelling? Let us give you an unforgettable experience in our majestic landscape. www.boreal.no BODØ – HARSTAD/NARVIK – ANDØYA – BARDUFOSS – TROMSØ – ALTA – LAKSELV – KIRKENES – SVALBARD avinor.no/northernlights 2 CRUICE NORTH 2013 Contents Editorial 5 Turnarounds in Arctic Europe 6 Brønnøysund: A World Heritage Experience 13 Bodø: First port of call north of the Arctic Circle 14 Lofoten: Struck by Nature 15 Vesterålen: New port, new Adventures 16 Harstad: A cultural Destination 17 Narvik: Where two Borders meet 18 Tromsø: The Gateway to the Arctic 19 Alta: Winter Capital 20 Hammerfest: New Energy 21 North Cape: More than a Plateau 22 Vardø: Real Arctic 23 Kirkenes: Where East meets West 24 Longyearbyen: Northernmost Cruise Destination 25 Winter Cruise – The next thing to do 27 Who’s cruising the Northern Sailing Route first? 30 Explorer cruises in the North-East 31 Facts about CNNS 34 Editor: Erik Joachimsen (Cruise Northern Norway & Svalbard), [email protected] Layout: Idemasjon AS, Tromsø, Norway English translation and proof reading: Gavin Tanguay Oversetting og språkvasking, Tromsø, Norway Print run: 5.000 Printing: Lundblad Media, Tromsø, Norway Paper quality: G-Print 90x64 – 90 gr / MultiArt Gloss 46 x 64 130 gr Ecolabel: The Swan Copyright: Cruise Northern Norway & Svalbard SA (cnns.no) Meet Cruise Northern Norway & Svalbard at Cruise Shipping in Miami, March 11 – 14, 2013, at Booth # 892. All cruise ports in our region will be represented and can answer your questions about port facilities and shorex. CRUICE NORTH 2013 3 Annonse NordNorsk Reiseliv AS northern norway www.northernnorway.com Photo: Terje Rakke / www.nordnorge.com Life / Nordic Terje Photo: Cruisemagasinet.indd 1 26.11.12 10:33 Look north! northern norway In 2011 we established Cruise Northern Norway & Svalbard, team up with nature and our guests that the magical which in time has become known as CNNS. This is a regional moments occur. It’s also worth mentioning that “the Arc- network of cruise destinations and other actors with a natu- tic kitchen” has had a tasty development in recent years. ral connection to cruise operations. But it’s when the food is spared from having to travel to the guest, and instead the guest travels to the food, that In our northernmost part of Europe you will find the it tastes best. world’s northernmost cruise destinations. On an annual basis our 14 cruise ports receive 440 calls with more Our part of the world has an unbelievable amount to offer. than 400.000 disembarking passengers. This is a market That’s why we have initiated our big signature project, share of just one percent in Europe, but for those of us “SHOREX 2014”, which will improve our “raw materials” who live in this outer post in the north it is more than and present unforgettable shorex offers for our guests. enough for the shore-based tourist industry to be going We look forward to sharing what we have and providing all out for an industry that is experiencing strong growth. the cruise passengers adventures that will give them goose bumps and good memories to share with those CNNS was established in recognition of the fact that we who are yet to visit us. have challenges associated with taking part in this strong growth. For our part, this means that we want to be even Welcome to Northern Norway and Svalbard! more proficient at developing new shore excursions. Our second major goal is to contribute to more cruise lines choosing to perform fly and cruise operations in North- Erik Joachimsen ern Norway and Svalbard. We believe strongly in this, and think that the solution for reducing fuel consumption Managing Director and satisfying the passengers’ wish for shorter cruises Cruise Northern Norway & Svalbard lies in more turnaround alternatives in the north. CNNS comprises actors which are collaborating to advance this idea. When we talk about region, we see Northwest Russia as a natural continuation of the CNNS region. Expedition ships and some larger ships have already secretly ex- plored these enormous areas, from Vardø and Kirkenes in Norway to Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Solovki in Rus- sia. Combined with fly and cruise in Northern Norway, we believe that the larger cruise lines will also see the opportunities east of the North Cape – not to mention the Northern Sea Route, which is now opening up in corre- lation with climate changes in the Arctic. In a few years, we think the first cruises will be offered from Northern Norway to Japan. Winter cruise is a positive trend, and the number of curious Northern Lights chasers is increasing. Aurora Borealis has a magical power on the tourists and has been successful as a unique selling point. Owing to nature and our loca- tion, our region is one of the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights, and we believe the Northern Lights cruises we have seen to date is only the beginning. The majestic and beautiful nature is our raw material, but that is not enough. It’s when the adventure providers CRUICE NORTH 2013 5 www.northernnorway.com Photo: Terje Rakke / www.nordnorge.com Life / Nordic Terje Photo: Cruisemagasinet.indd 1 26.11.12 10:33 READY FOR TURNOROUND IN THE NORTH Turnaround operations are predicted to be the future for con- Looking at the map of Northern Norway and Svalbard and the tinued growth in Northern Norway and Svalbard. There are capacity of the different airports and ports, all together five many opportunities for cruise lines that want to plan fly and different sites single themselves out as alternatives for cruise cruise operations, and several ports are preparing for this lines planning fly and cruise operations in the northernmost scenario. part of Europe. The North Cape, Longyearbyen in Svalbard, the cities of Tromsø and Bodø and the Evenes airport all offer good At the same time as the cruise lines are searching for solu- opportunities, depending on the companies’ strategies and tions to reduce fuel consumption, the passengers want to wishes. The alternatives are featured on the following pages. travel on shorter cruises. Given the long sailing distances be- tween the main European home ports and the northernmost The ports have large capacity, although some have restrictions ports in Norway, one could be excused for thinking this could for the largest ships. The willingness to develop the infrastruc- lead to a reduction in traffic northwards. However, despite this, ture is considerable, especially as oil and gas operations will the traffic is continuing to increase. increase heavily in a region that is in an early phase. In the long run, the cruise lines will take advantage of the infrastructure “There is no guarantee that this will continue and consequently that is being built. we wish to prepare for a future in which these factors are elimi- nated. We believe that the best way of achieving this is by the There are three airports in Northern Norway that can accommo- cruise lines performing large-scale turnaround operations in date wide-body aircraft: Lakselv (North Cape), Evenes (Harstad, Northern Norway,” says Erik Joachimsen, the Managing Director Narvik, Vesterålen and Lofoten) and Bodø. The airports are built of Cruise Northern Norway and Svalbard (CNNS), a regional net- for both civilian and military purposes, and consequently have work that is working to achieve a positive development for the the capacity for large aircraft and passenger volume including cruise industries in the northernmost part of Europe. luggage. The utilisation of the capacity at airports is low, since they are sized up for several purposes. HIDDEN SECRETS The Norwegian state-owned company Avinor, which owns, operates and develops most airports in Norway, has developed By performing turnaround operations, a traditional cruise of the brand Northern Lights Airports, which covers the nine larg- 11-14 days duration may be reduced to a one-week cruise. The est airports in Northern Norway. cruise lines would also be able to plan cruises with a base in Northern Norway, for instance sailing to Northwest Russia or “It is in Avinor’s interest that the potential and accessibility Svalbard before returning to a “home port” in Northern Norway. that our Northern Lights Airports gives Northern Norway is fully exploited”, says Manager Tourism Development at Avinor, Iver “There are 13 different cruise ports in Northern Norway and Holter-Andersen. “Consequently, we want to be a good col- Svalbard, and four of these currently account for 88 percent of laboration partner for the combined tourism-related work that the traffic. For cruise lines looking to offer exciting new alterna- organisations such as the Northern Norwegian Tourist Board tives to their passengers, there are rich opportunities and many and Cruise Northern Norway & Svalbard represent. Our airports hidden secrets, which we are sure will be discovered in the com- are important bricks in the work that is being undertaken to get ing years.” more turnaround operations in Northern Norway, and in this context we see a development potential both for scheduled “There are many options to implement successful turnarounds flights and charter traffic,” says Holter-Andersen. in Northern Norway. Our mission is to encourage the various destinations to develop good infrastructures, and to tell the cruise agents and shipping agencies the opportunities that ex- See map at page 35 ist at the top of Europe.” Turnaround operations have taken place on a small scale and in different variations at several ports in Northern Norway and in Svalbard for many years.