Alan Lam reporting

Hurtigruten, the Norway-based adventure cruise operator, has announced that it will not renew its current membership with CLIA.

It appears that the decision has been made based on the perception by the Norwegian cruise line that its interest has diverged from that of CLIA. The company has also made it clear that this move is in no way indicative of its view of CLIA as an organisation. “We are very supportive of the good work undertaken by CLIA for the cruise industry,” said Anthony Daniels, Hurtigruten’s head of sales. “However, as a business, Hurtigruten has ambitions to be seen more as an adventure travel business than a mainstream cruise line.”

With this in mind it has decided that it is “the right time to part company with CLIA”.

"We have enjoyed working with the team at Hurtigruten and would like to thank them for their support,” said Any Harmer, Vice-President of Operations, CLIA Europe. “Hurtigruten is a very unique brand and we understand the desire of the company to reposition itself within the holiday sector.”