Expedition Cruise Network: Travel Trends 2024/25
During the inaugural conference of the Expedition Cruise Network (ECN) at the Bankside Hotel in London, bringing together expedition cruise operators and travel industry companies, the Antarctic and Arctic regions of Svalbard, Alaska, and Greenland were highlighted as areas with the highest growth potential.
While expeditions to cold-water destinations are growing in popularity, warmer regions are also set for significant expansion in 2025. Notably, the Galapagos Islands, a premier destination, are rebounding after a decline due to Ecuador’s State of Emergency in early 2024. Additionally, the Seychelles are gaining traction with new itineraries planned for 2025, and the Pacific is emerging as a standout destination for cruises next year.
Expedition Cruise Network
Expedition Cruise Network
Vanuatu, a South Pacific archipelago of 83 islands, stands out for its charming mountain villages, easily accessible active and inactive volcanoes, and blue lagoons filled with turtles. The region is set to expand its expedition cruise offerings further. Aranui, an ECN member specializing in French Polynesia, highlighted the Marquesas and Austral Islands as promising growth areas. Meanwhile, the rising demand in the travel sector to include Africa in expedition cruise itineraries has led to new routes by Swan Hellenic in southwest and west Africa, as well as Aqua Expeditions’ new routes in east Africa.
The UK market is dynamic, with all members who participated in ECN’s fall 2024 survey reporting an increase or stability in business activity compared to the previous year, with growth rates ranging from 5% to 40%. Additionally, ECN recorded a significant rise in initiatives encouraging members to host tourism representatives to enhance practical skills and knowledge.
The expedition cruise industry offers a wide variety of products at diverse price points, emphasizing its versatility. Over the past year, industry operators have noted an average booking lead time of nine months. However, booking patterns vary greatly, with some operators seeing reservations as early as 30 days in advance, while others report bookings up to two years out.
Expedition Cruise Network
HX Blue Bag
Akvile Marozaite, CEO of ECN, stated that the travel trends for 2024/25 showcase the diversity of the expedition cruise industry. According to Marozaite, expedition cruises have become synonymous with polar exploration, and new airports in Greenland continue to support this trend. However, expedition cruises in warmer waters are just beginning to capture consumer imagination and enthusiasm. Marozaite sees many opportunities for travel professionals in 2025 and expressed particular excitement for the new opportunities, destinations, and products being introduced to the UK travel sector, wishing all attendees great success.
The Expedition Cruise Network (ECN) also celebrated excellence in the expedition cruise industry with the first edition of its awards, which included seven categories for expedition cruise companies, five categories for the travel sector, and two special recognition awards. All expedition cruise categories were voted on by ECN travel sector members, while the travel sector categories were judged by a panel of expedition cruise company representatives from the ECN.
Expedition Cruise Network
The winners in the Expedition Cruise Operator categories were Oceanwide Expeditions as the best expedition cruise operator for polar destinations, for sustainability, and as the best mid-size operator with berths between 159 and 599 across its fleet; HX Hurtigruten Expeditions as the best expedition cruise operator for warm destinations and the best large operator with over 600 berths in its fleet; Ponant as the best luxury expedition cruise operator; and Polar Latitudes as the best small operator with a maximum of 149 berths.
Winners in the Travel Sector categories included Polar Tracks as the Best Expedition Cruise Agency; Swoop Antarctica as the Best Expedition Cruise Tour Operator (ATOL licensed); Lucy Yeoman as Best Individual Expedition Cruise Seller/Advisor; Kenwood Travel as the Best Newcomer in Expedition Cruises in the travel agency or tour operator category; and Sarah Meadowcroft as Best Individual Newcomer in Expedition Cruises as a seller/advisor. Special Recognition category winners were John McKeon for Career Achievement and AE Expeditions for Significant Contributions.
Expedition Cruise Network
Expedition Cruise Network
ECN President Martin Johnson expressed his honor in supporting industry members through the first awards dedicated to the expedition cruise sector. He emphasized ECN’s mission to recognize, celebrate, and share the dedication of these operators, sellers, and professionals within the wider travel industry. Johnson extended his congratulations to all winners, hoping they replicate their success in next year’s awards.
Founded in April 2023, the Expedition Cruise Network represents the voice of the expedition cruise sector and currently has 26 member expedition cruise companies and over 1,500 travel sector members, including travel agents, tour operators, travel designers, and product and marketing professionals, as well as experts supporting expedition cruise sales.
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