NEWS CLIA RIVER CRUISE CONVENTION PREVIEW
Clia UK & Ireland’s fifth River Cruise Convention, on November 20-21, will highlight the benefits of selling the product to more agents than ever. Hollie-Rae Merrick reports
Agents will be able to visit CroisiEurope’s Lafayette
Clia expects record number of agents at river convention
A record number of delegates are set to attend this year’s River Cruise Convention.
Clia UK & Ireland’s two-day
event, which is now in its fifth year, has grown in popularity over the years and is expected to attract 300 delegates to Amsterdam in November. The association is encouraging
agents to take advantage of the opportunities available in the growing river cruise sector. According to Clia UK & Ireland
director Andy Harmer (pictured), more agents are keen to establish themselves in the river sector. “Every year,
more agents are seeing the opportunities available through river cruise,” he said. “The sector
is growing, with more ships coming into service
“Every year, more agents are seeing the opportunities that are available through river cruise”
and lots of variety for customers. “We have a record number
of delegates attending. We’re expecting 300 people, but we also have a record number of agents set to attend [within that number].” Harmer attributed the
increasing popularity of river cruising to rising awareness and product knowledge in the trade. He said: “I think the rise in popularity stems from the fact that agents have been hearing more about river cruising, and they understand the product better. “River cruising has been getting
great coverage in both the trade and consumer media, and agents like the fact that river tends to have a high average selling price.” One of the convention’s key
16
travelweekly.co.uk 10 September 2015
attractions for agents is the opportunity to see and experience so much product in one go. “One of the convention’s massive benefits is the number of ships that are made available for agents to see,” said Harmer. “These ships aren’t all meant to
be in Amsterdam this weekend, but the cruise lines make it possible because they are keen to get as many agents to see their product as they can. “Five of the ships are new to
the conference and haven’t been shown before, and that’s always great because there’s a lot of excitement around the growth in the river cruise sector.” The conference, for which Travel
Weekly is media partner, includes conference sessions, networking opportunities and the chance to look at seven ships (see box). The business sessions will include presentations on destinations and advice on how agents can book more river cruises. Harmer added: “It’s important
to us that agents attending the conference get something out of it.”
Ships on show
Docking in Amsterdam for the river convention will be: w AmaCerto (AmaWaterways) w Amadeus Silver II (Amadeus River Cruises) w A-Rosa Viva (A-Rosa) w Lafayette (CroisiEurope) w Scenic Jasper (Scenic Tours) w Inspire (Tauck River Cruising) w River Empress (Uniworld)
TICKETS
Only a handful of tickets remain. They cost £70 and are available via Clia’s website, at
cruisexperts.org. The price includes ship visits, the conference and a night’s stay on an exhibiting vessel.
Clia events, 2015
w NEW TO CRUISE SUMMIT September 15, London
w CRUISE WEEK September 19-27, nationwide
w DIGITAL MARKETING SEMINAR September 23, London
w RIVER CRUISE SHOWCASE October 8, Manchester
w RIVER CRUISE CONVENTION November 20-21, Amsterdam
w CLIA ANNUAL DINNER December 10, Tilbury
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92