As Millennials and Gen Z drive demand for purpose-driven travel, HX Expeditions is leaning into science, education, and community engagement to differentiate itself from traditional cruise lines, according to Chief Executive Officer Gebhard Rainer.
He noted that while geographic expansion is vital for customer retention, the depth of the experience is paramount.
“Every customer you keep is a lot cheaper than acquiring a new customer,” Rainer explained. “But at the same time, I think there is a real responsibility in making sure that the immersiveness of what we offer is really there, rather than just flying by and showing and telling people what is there without really experiencing and understanding what it means.”
This push for deeper immersion aligns perfectly with a shifting demographic profile detected by HX, he continued.
“The more Millennials and Gen Z guests are coming into the sector and have discretionary income to afford what we do, the more the expectations are changing,” Rainer said.
He said that these generations view asset accumulation, such as owning a house, differently than previous generations, choosing instead to spend more money on other products, including travel.
Beyond traditional shore excursions and tours, these new guests want to understand destinations from various points of view, he continued.
To meet these expectations, operators must ensure their footprint contributes positively to local populations, mentioning that HX’s product is built on three pillars: science, education and sustainability.
Pointing to the company’s operations with Inuit communities in Arctic Canada and Greenland, he stressed the responsibility of visiting areas cut off from traditional supply chains for months at a time.
“When we suddenly bring people there, we have a responsibility to make sure that we don’t leave a massive footprint behind, but we actually contribute to their responsible economic development that retains, maintains and protects the cultural heritage,” he said.
“You can deploy very quickly into new destinations in order to have a lot of new offerings. But I think almost more important is to optimize and maximize the itineraries and the deployments that you have in your portfolio right now.”
Responsible immersion is supported by the company’s pillars of science and education, highlighted by an exclusive partnership with the University of Tasmania.
Through this program, HX guests can participate as citizen scientists onboard and pursue accredited online university courses, paired with on-site scientific programs.
Currently rolling out for the Arctic season and adding Mandarin as a third language option, the program is said to provide a unique scientific background to the regions visited.
“It’s a very unique way of really providing an immersive program for our guests. But it’s not only this; it’s also the commitment to a destination from a longevity point of view. It’s not a one-off stop, but it’s a multi-year commitment that requires multi-year preparation.”
Rainer said that commitment extends to onboard sustainability, noting that HX has eliminated single-use plastics since 2018.
The company now provides guests with reusable water bottles, preventing thousands of plastic bottles from entering the ocean.
While the expedition market is currently doing a good job in product development and impact, expedition cruising must clearly define itself against broader industry trends, he added.
“I can say that we are not a cruise company. We are an experience company,” Rainer said, mentioning its background in other industries.
“There’s a very simple distinguishing difference: in our business, the destination is the place we go to. In the cruise business, the destination is the ship,” he continued.
“We will see a lot of additional competition pushing into this sector with quasi-expedition,” Rainer added.
“I think we need to be absolutely clear as to what expedition is and what the true experience in expedition is.”
