DFDS sells DFDS Canal Tours to Strömma
SHIPPING: DFDS has signed an agreement for the sale of DFDS Canal Tours to Strömma Turism & Sjöfart. Strömma Turism & Sjöfart operates city harbour cruses and sight-seeing coaches in Nordic cities. The agreed price is 110 million kroner.
DFDS became the owner of DFDS Canal Tours in 1998, when the DFDS Group took over the previous owner, Dan Transport (which later became DFDS Transport).
“DFDS Canal Tours has been an exciting part of DFDS. With a skilled management and dedicated employees the company has succeeded in positioning itself as one of Copenhagen’s biggest and most famous tourist attractions. But even though we have been pleased to own the company, we must also acknowledge that it is very different from the rest of DFDS, which includes freight and passenger ships and land transport of goods throughout northern Europe. We must therefore conclude that there are few common synergies and that DFDS would not be the right owner in the longer term. We are therefore very pleased that DFDS Canal Tours will in the future be part of a professional city tourism company that has all the qualities to make it an even stronger factor in tourism in Copenhagen. Warm thanks to the entire staff at DFDS Canal Tours for excellent cooperation and a good earnings trend through the years”, says DFDS CEO Niels Smedegaard.
DFDS Canal Tours has 16 boats, all with names from the fairy tales of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. The company is the fifth largest tourist attraction in Denmark with about 700,000 visitors a year and a turnover of around 40 million kroner. In the high season, DFDS Canal Tours employs around 100 people.
“We already operate bus sightseeing in Copenhagen under the name Open Air Sightseeing. We therefore look forward to working with employees of DFDS Canal Tours and especially CEO Eric Holsko, who fortunately wants to continue his position. Together with the employees and the managements of DFDS Canal Tours and Open Air Sightseeing, we will continue and hopefully also strengthen the development of the two companies, in particular by exploiting the potential synergies that exist between them, and of course by integrating the experience we have from the operation of similar tourist business in the other Nordic cities. Meanwhile, we will make all products available through our own web stores, so visitors can plan and buy their tickets and experiences in good time before arrival,” says Jan Larsén, Managing Director of Strömma Turism & Sjöfart AB.
Source: DFDS Update / maritimedanmark.dk
