Expedition Cruise Demand Expected to Level as Prices Rise

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Expedition cruise executives say sector growth may slow as new shipbuilding eases, while fares are expected to move higher after several years of competitive pricing.

Demand for expedition cruising could begin to plateau over the next few years as new ship supply slows and operators move to restore pricing, according to industry executives speaking at the CLIA Expedition Showcase in Svalbard.

During a roundtable discussion reported by Cruise Trade News, Craig Upshall, director of retail sales for the UK, India, Middle East and Australasia at Polar Latitudes Expeditions, said the sector was likely to see slower growth after several years of expansion.

Craig Upshall (supplied)

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in the last few years, but from a holistic point of view, I think we will start to see a plateau in the next couple of years because the number of ships being built is reducing,” Upshall told Cruise Trade News.

He said the pace of growth had been accelerated by new entrants to the expedition market over the past decade, but that momentum was now easing.

“In the last eight or nine years, new players have entered the market which has expedited growth, but now we’re seeing the recycling of older ships and less growth in product, so I think there will be a plateau,” he said.

Bernie Carter, director of sales at Atlas Ocean Voyages, disagreed that demand would slow, but said pricing was likely to rise across the expedition cruise sector.

“As new brands have come into the expedition market, there has been a pressure on price points because these new brands have wanted to become established so they have had lower prices,” Carter told Cruise Trade News.

He said fewer new ships, combined with growing awareness of expedition cruising, would give operators scope to lift fares.

“As we go forward over the next couple of years, we’ll see expedition prices start to get back up to the prices they should be, which is good for us and good for consumers,” Carter said.

Asked whether higher prices were positive for consumers, Andrew Turner, sales director EMEA for AE Expeditions, said operators needed stronger pricing to support profitability.

“Prices have to go up for these operators to actually make a profit,” Turner said.

Turner cited the Arctic as a market where fares had been reduced because of a large number of operators competing in the region.

“Some operators are still trying to scramble for last-minute sales and that isn’t what expedition cruising should be,” he said. “It’s a premium product and it shouldn’t have a cheap price point.”

The comments suggest the expedition cruise sector may be entering a new phase, with slower capacity growth, firmer pricing and a renewed focus on positioning expedition cruising as a premium travel product.

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