Record Year Forecast for Southern Norway

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Cruise Norway is projecting a record year for 2011 with 1,694 confirmed calls. The organization said it expects a total of 2 million passengers, counting all calls in the country – 15 percent more than for 2010. Southern Norway will also see a bigger increase than Northern Norway, which was attributed to higher fuel and pilot costs. Increases vary among the major Norwegian cruise ports with Kristiansand expecting the biggest increase with 60 percent year-over-year; Alesund, 43 percent; Bergen, 33 percent; Stavanger, 28 percent; Olden 27 percent; Geiranger, 25 percent; Oslo 23 percent; and Flam, 17 percent. The cruise season stretches from late February with four winter cruises in 2011 and six scheduled for next year, and concludes in late September. Cruise Norway stated that passengers spend an estimated $370 million, representing 13 percent of the spending by international tourists in the country.