HX Expeditions vows to ramp up trade support with training portal and mega-fams

HX (formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions) has pledged to ramp up its support for the UK trade following its 130th anniversary celebrations, committing to three further mega-fam trips and the launch of an online agent training platform.

Speaking to agents at the Royal Geographical Society in London, chief executive Gebhard Rainer promised the operator would “continue to invest in supporting the trade”.

Rainer said: “The trade is extremely important to us and will be even more important as we go forward. Expedition is a complex product where people want human contact and personal experience, and someone to talk to who can passionately bring a story across. That is where the trade is really valuable.”

Rainer thanked agents in attendance for working with the company during its transition to split from Hurtigruten last year, and apologised for the operational difficulties experienced following changes to its booking system.

He promised the business was “working every day with teams” to make sure problems were fixed as soon as possible, adding that a key priority is the introduction of an API for trade partners.

He added: “We’ll get to a point where we make it as easy as possible for you to do business with us and focus back on the purpose of why we appreciate these partners so much - and that is bringing our product and our experiences to market for people who look for purposeful and mindful travel.”

Nathaniel Sherborne, senior vice-president and managing director for EMEA, ANZ and global sales enablement, revealed more trade-friendly initiatives coming over the next 18 months, including the launch of its 2028-29 itineraries.

The 2028-29 programme will go on sale on 15 September and include shorter seven-night itineraries in Greenland, Alaska and Scandinavia, designed to make expedition cruising “much more accessible to a much wider audience”.

The collection will also feature new South Georgia itineraries on one of the operator’s hybrid ships for the first time, offering 17-night expeditions compared to the traditional 23-night voyages.

Sherborne added that HX is looking to charter flights directly to the Falkland Islands in what he described as “an industry-first”.

On the mega-fam plans, he said he was “delighted” to confirm three more over the next 18 months following the “huge success” of its inaugural trip in May, with destinations and dates currently being finalised.

He noted that MS Roald Amundsen will sail a three-night voyage in the UK and MS Fram will operate a short sailing in 2028, both of which could potentially host trade partners on board.

He also revealed that a new online training platform will launch later this year, designed to “remove some of the fear” around selling the expedition sector.

Sherborne said: “We want everyone in this room to recognise we are proactively planning our deployments when we look at launch seasons in ways we can engage with the trade, support education and ensure the sector continues to grow.”