Caring for the Coast – Livelihoods
Together with your visits to these communities, our sailings on the coast have helped to support local businesses, create jobs, and sustain livelihoods. When they thrive, we thrive.
True sustainability isn’t just about the relationship between people and the environment. It’s also about maintaining an economy that helps people, while protecting the planet at the same time. We’ve cared for communities on the coast since our first voyage in 1893, carrying the cargo, mail, supplies, and customers that small businesses need to keep ticking.
Your voyage leaves lasting benefits to the local economy, which in turn ripple out to the wider community. This is small-scale sustainable tourism at its best, ensuring money goes to where it should, and doing good for local entrepreneurs, their staff, and their families.
Working to sustain life
Our ships transport over 100,000 tons of consumer goods a year to and from the Norwegian coast. We bring everything from food to important medicine. For the small town of Kjøllefjord, we are their most important supplier of fresh fruit. Through our service, local businesses are also able to export their goods to other people and places.
As goods are loaded and off-loaded from our ships at the ports we dock at, you’ll see these important interactions first-hand. It is exactly these exchanges which are helping to support the livelihoods of the millions who live all along on the Norwegian coast.
Enhanced by excursions
For some local businesses, we’re more than just The Coastal Express service; we’re also their biggest customer. We cherish the relationships we’ve created with excursion providers, each handpicked based on the same high standards we hold ourselves to. You’ll find that they are as passionate and committed to sustainable practices as we are, employing green tech and renewable resources wherever possible.
The goodwill we’ve cultivated with our excursion partners over the years means that you’ll receive a warm welcome and greeted with open arms. You can look forward to having these knowledgeable, local experts show you the area, taking you on added adventures that go a long way to supporting their families and community.
From sea to chef
Our Coastal Kitchen concept of using fresh, local produce means most of the food and drink you’ll enjoy on board come from Norwegian suppliers. These are received by our ships at half of the ports we visit – with as few food miles in between as possible. Not only does this provide farming and fishing families with important income, but it also cuts down on the energy needed to transport or refrigerate ingredients.
As you tuck into succulent scallops that were hand-delivered straight from the local fishermen to our on board chefs, you’ll feel more connected to life here. Savouring each dish, you’ll appreciate that sustainability doesn’t just do good, it tastes good too.
Training tomorrow’s Captains
Our commitment to caring for the coast’s communities has meant we’ve also invested in the individuals within them. We’re proud to be the biggest provider of maritime apprenticeships in the country. Our ships also welcome schools on board and we regularly bring on sea cadets on training schemes.
That some of our Captains and crew began their careers waving at our ships as children shows just how deep a connection The Hurtigruten Coastal Express has with the coast and its communities. Chat to the crew and hear how The Original Coastal Express has shaped their lives, inspiring generation after generation of sailors, chefs, engineers, and Captains.