Expedition holiday specialist G Adventures has bought the Swan Hellenic cruise brand and plans to relaunch it in 2018.
Swan was founded in the 1950s and counted renowned TV archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler among its early advisers. Together with sister company Voyages of Discovery it went bust at the beginning of January following the collapse of parent company All Leisure Group.
Liquidators Grant Thornton blamed the cruise lines’ losses, made worse by the turmoil in Egypt, the Black Sea and Turkey, plus currency losses after Brexit, for the failure of the whole business.
Toronto-based G Adventures bought tour operators Travelsphere and Just You from ALG for a reported £625,000 but it took another four weeks before the Swan Hellenic rescue was announced.
It is not yet clear what form the revived Swan Hellenic will take. The line’s ship, Minerva (above), was chartered and did not form part of the purchase. G Adventures says it hopes to announce preliminary itineraries for 2018 by the summer.
G runs operates expeditions and safaris for tour groups in 100 countries and also runs the 134-passenger ship Expedition, which specialises in cruising to the Polar regions.
John Warner, vice president of global sales, says G is determined the Swan Hellenic legacy will live on.
“We know how beloved Swan Hellenic is to its loyal customer base and the respect it has in the British travel community. Our long-term aim is to re-launch Swan Hellenic and re-establish the award-winning values that make it so well-loved,” he added.
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