Friday, February 23, 2018 - 14:45 by ce-press
Narvik is steadily growing as a cruise destination and the product/excursion portfolio is continually being developed for both summer and winter products.
“We are a transit port, turnaround port and boutique port with great flexibility adapting to both large and small groups. The new cable car will definitively be a huge asset to Narvik as a destination [see below],” explained Grethe Parker, Cruise Narvik.
“We are also improving the infrastructure by moving the cruise traffic to the town centre in 2019. The average excursion rate based on numbers from the last eight years is 60% with the biggest sellers being Ofotbanen railway, Polar Park, the cable car and the new interactive war museum.”
There are 13 calls scheduled this year and 22 next with Viking Sky, Nordstjernen, Queen Elizabeth, Boudicca, Amadea, TUI Explorer and Saga Sapphire making a number of calls each. Others to call include Silver Wind, Deutschland, Arcadia and AIDAaura.
In order to cater to more visitors, the cable car in Narvik is being upgraded. In late January Narvikfjellet signed a contract with the Swiss company, Bartholet, which will build the new cable car. This will include new base stations at the top and bottom. Building commences in March 2018 and the plan is to open on December 1 2018.
The corridor for the new gondola will differ from the current one so building should not interfere with daily operations. The current gondola will operate throughout this season.
A new gondola will give increased capacity and better comfort. There will be 23 carriages with a capacity of 10 people in each. This equates to 1,600 people an hour and a travel time of 4.5 minutes.
Wind restriction will be significantly improved. The new limit being 17 m/s depending on wind direction as opposed to the current one which has limitations of 7 m/s.
