“Flåm during the winter is our focus now. Flåm will continue to grow as a year-round destination, and we can deliver the same excursions and the same quality of service, but in a different way,” said Jon Olav Stedje, manager of port operations.

Traffic is on the move, with 157 calls scheduled this year for around 255,000 cruise guests, with the season extending from March through early October.

Next year the biggest difference is more calls in early and late months.

“This is also our focus. We want to have a longer season to be able to create value locally. A longer period of calls throughout the year,” Stedje continued.

The new Viking village attraction in Gudvangen will now stay open year-round.

A fully electric sight-seeing boat was launched into service earlier this year, the Future of the Fjord.

“That means that we now have one hybrid vessel (Vision of the Fjords) and one fully electric sightseeing boat running in our UNESCO fjord,” Stedje said.

Having welcomed cruise guests for 19 years, the port likes to mention high shore-ex revenue and high guest satisfaction as the perks of calling in Flam.

“We are working on expanding the cruise pier an additional 50 meters,” Stedje continued. “That will make the cruise pier 160 meters long in total, including a new bollard.

The project is still in the planning phase, but the goal is to complete construction in time for the height of the 2019 cruise season. After that, Stedje has his eyes on shorepower.

“Flåm will continue to be a leading sustainable cruise destination. Our focus will be to expand our season and to convince the decision makers in the industry that Flåm is a perfect all year destination,” Stedje added. “If we keep delivering, and we continue to exceed expectations, Flåm will continue to be a ‘reason to go’ destination.”